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Eight hundred years ago the mysterious Knights Templar laid out
the wide, straight streets of Baldock, building on farm land donated
by a pious lord. What the warrior knights did not realise was that
others had been there before them.
Baldock is an archaeological site of international significance.
Beneath the Medieval town lies the ruins of a prominent Iron Age
and Roman religious cult centre. Grieving relatives brought the
bodies and cremated remains of their newly-dead for burial at Baldock.
Special areas were consecrated in their honour, temples built and
traces of what may be a hunting deity have been found.
But Baldock fell into decay after the Romans left and dwindled into
obscurity, until finally it ceased to exist at all. Centuries passed,
all memories of the temples, villas and cemeteries faded away and
instead new settlers built in the Medieval, Tudor, Georgian and
Victorian style. The town flourished thanks to its weekly market
and its position at the crossroads of the Icknield Way and the Great
North Road. Travellers going to and from London, westwards or east
to the Newmarket races and the coast, stopped in the town for the
night or for refreshment.
When 17th Century drinkers decided they liked Hertfordshire malt
for their porter ale, Baldock businessmen and farmers set about
supplying it and the town prospered. In 1779 Baldock was described
as “a very considerable place being large and well inhabited.”
Its fortunes changed after porter became less popular and the railways
arrived in the 1850s, hitting the coaching trade. Expansion slowed
but the town could already boast some of the finest architecture
in the county and a selection of traditional pubs with rich and
often royal histories - James 1 and Edward VII definitely stopped
in the town, along with diarist Samuel Pepys who wrote that he found
his landlady “a very pretty woman” when he stayed at
an inn on August 6, 1661: “But I darst not take notice of
her, her husband being there.”
Visitors to the town can find much to admire, including more than
100 listed buildings and the parish church of St Mary with its Knights
Templar origins still visible in parts of the chancel. It has three
fine Medieval screens and an elaborate south chapel.
Pubs such as the Old White Horse and White Lion can trace their
origins back to the prosperous coaching days. A walk down Church
Street, the High Street, Whitehorse Street and Hitchin Street will
reveal a large number of intriguing buildings such as Wynne’s
Almshouses, the oldest brick buildings in Baldock dating back to
1621.
The 15th Century gates at 24 High Street came from the Medieval
hospital of St Mary Magdalene and the nearby Manor House, at number
21, was once the home of the notorious Mary Grave, mistress to the
‘Wicked’ Earl of Salisbury who left his wife to live
with her.
At the top of the High Street a large Tesco store has been built
behind the elaborate Art Deco facade of the former Kaysor Bondor
stocking factory. The building was originally a photographic laboratory,
built after fire in 1928 destroyed the large manor house that stood
on the site.
There is a strong community spirit in Baldock with numerous groups
and societies, many centred on the town’s community centre
near the library. There are several thriving primary schools and
a highly-regarded secondary school, Knights Templar, which also
has a leisure centre open to the public.
Every May the town runs a two-week festival and a group of volunteers
keep the museum open on Wednesdays and Sunday afternoons in the
Town Hall. It features displays on the history of Baldock including
its importance as a coaching centre and its malting industry. There
is a weekly market on Wednesday mornings and a wide variety of cafes,
pubs and restaurants. The fair which takes place on the first weekend
of October fills the central streets and draws visitors of all ages
from a wide area.
Following the opening of the long-awaited bypass, and after intensive
consultation with residents, the town centre has been enhanced with
a remodelled, more pedestrian friendly road layout, new street and
pavement surfaces, green areas, new street furniture and lighting,
which give new life to the town’s historic buildings.
Contact numbers:
Baldock Museum - 01462 892960
Tourist Information - Baldock Library, 01438 737333
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