Baldock
| Baldock | |
|---|---|
 Baldock High Street – before regeneration |
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 Baldock
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| Baldock shown within Hertfordshire | |
| Population | 9,900 10,280 (2011 Census Baldock East and Town wards) |
| OS grid reference | TL247337 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BALDOCK |
| Postcode district | SG7 |
| Dialling code | 01462 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Baldock is a historic market town in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the ceremonial county of Hertfordshire, England where the River Ivel rises. It lies 33 miles (53 km) north of London, 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Bedford, and 14 miles (23 km) north northwest of the county town of Hertford. Nearby towns include Royston to the northeast, Letchworth and Hitchin to the southwest and Stevenage to the south.
Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements show the site of Baldock has been continuously occupied since prehistoric times.
At the beginning of the Iron Age there was a hillfort at Arbury Banks, 5 km to the northeast of Baldock, that dominated the area. In the Late Iron Age (c. 100 BC), the local power base shifted from the hillfort to the vicinity of Baldock. The soil was easily farmed and transportation was more convenient. In the Roman and late Roman eras the community appears to have been both a market town and religious centre. The Roman settlement gradually disappeared. There is no entry for Baldock in the Domesday Book.
Baldock was founded by the Knights Templar (also the name of the town's secondary school) as a medieval market town in the 1140s. It was laid out by the Knights Templar on land in the manor of Weston in the hundred of Broadwater, granted by the earl of Pembroke, Gilbert de Clare, before his death in 1148. The 1850 tithe map, drawn up before the parish boundaries were extended in the later 19th century, clearly shows the boundaries of the land grant made from the manor of Weston in the 12th century. It is a triangular parcel of land beside the old Roman Road cut out from an older estate; it is likely that the Templars used their knowledge of mathematics when siting buildings.
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Wikipedia