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Baldock
Baldock is the smallest of the four towns and retains much of its traditional market town character and olde-world charm. It is one of only five towns in Hertfordshire listed by the Council for British Archaeology as being of national importance. Baldock stands close to the sites of iron age and Roman settlements on Stane Street. It is a market town and the first recorded charter dates to about 442. The town offers a wide choice of pubs and restaurants.
In the extreme north of Hertfordshire, Baldock stands close to Letchworth's eastern side, and grew up where the Great North Road crossed the Icknield Way and the upper reaches of the River Ivel. It is today growing as a residential town and is now well served by the smart new electric trains on the suburban service from Cambridge through to Kings Cross.
The earliest settlement in Baldock was to the east of the present town centre by the junction of the Icknield Way and Stane Street. Excavations have revealed an extensive Iron Age and Romano-British settlement with houses, enclosures, wells and roads. There were also extensive burial grounds nearby dating from the second to the fourth century A. D. The earlier burials contained a wide variety of grave goods and many finds can be seen on display in Letchworth Museum.
Although these finds determine the earliest settlement on this site, the first recorded evidence came in mediaeval times, and consisted of a charter by William, Earl of Pembroke, which confirmed a grant of land by his ancestor during the reign of Stephen (in about 1142) in favour of the Knights Templar. This document referred to the place as Baudac. When, in later years, the Templars fell from grace, the property was transferred to the Knights Hospitallers.
The town grew slowly through the centuries and perhaps gained most importance in the coaching days when it was the first main halting stage on the Great North Road out of London.
The town's greatest feature is its parish church of St. Mary, a spacious building in the town centre with its large 14th century west tower capped by a small and typical Hertfordshire 'spike' (or steeple). The main part of the church is of the 14th century, although some windows are later, and the quite splendid screens which extend right across the chancel arch and aisles are of the 15th century. The wood carving of the screens is superb and the rood screen is more ornate. Monuments include a 13th cent ury marble coffin lid, and several brasses of the 15th century including one depicting a man with a hunting horn. More ornate is a typically Victorian memorial to Georgiana Caldecott, who is shown backed by an angel carrying her soul up to Heaven.
Baldock's town centre boasts some handsome 16th, 17th and 18th century houses. The four main streets meet at the junction of the earlier Roman routes, although the Roman town itself was a short way distant. The Great North Road actually ran past both the church and the market place, and part of this famous road, lined by grass banks and trees, forms the High Street.
Although there are newer buildings in this thoroughfare - including the former Council Offices of 1897 - its charm is in the several Georgian houses with their pilasters and pediments. Even older are Wynne's Almshouses, a pleasing group dating from 1621. Also of interest are the Brewer's House of the former brewery (pulled down in 1967), a late Georgian residence, and nearby, a restored much older timber framed house.
Georgian buildings are found in other central streets, both on a grand scale and in the form of small terraced houses. Close to the church is the rectory designed by Butterfield in 1870, and in Church Street is the former Quaker Meeting House, a 17th century building now used commercially.
