A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
BALDOCK, a small town, a parish, and a subdistrict, in the district of Hitchin, Herts. The town stands in a valley between two hills, on Icknield-street, adjacent to the Hitchin and Cambridge railway, near. the source of the river Rhea, 5 miles NE of Hitchin. It has a station on the railway, a head post office,‡ a parish church, four dissenting chapels, almshouses, a banking office, and two good inns; and is a seat of petty sessions. Its name was anciently written Baudoc; and is supposed by some to have been taken from Baalbec in Syria and applied by the Knights Templars. These military monks got a grant of the place, in the reign of Stephen, from Gilbert, Earl of Pembroke; and they built upon it a church, and obtained for it the rights of a market town The present parish church includes some portions of the Templars church; is a spacious edifice, in later English, with a large chancel and an ancient tower; was recently renovated; and contains some monuments of the Templars, a finely-carved oak screen, a very curious font, and part of the ancient rood-loft. The principal street of the town is wide, and has many respectable houses. Much business is done in the corn and malting trades; and a great quantity of straw-plait is made here and in the neighbourhood. A weekly market is held on Friday; and fairs, on 7 March, the last Thursday in May, 5 Aug., 2 Oct., and 11 Dec.—The parish comprises 200 acres. Real property, £6,312. Pop., 1,974. Houses, 408. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester Value, £200.* Patron, Bishop of Rochester. Charities, £270.-The subdistrict contains sixteen parishes. Acres, 28,660. Pop., 8,738. Houses, 1,811.
(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Feature Description: | "a small town, a parish, and a subdistrict" (ADL Feature Type: "cities") |
| Administrative units: | Baldock CP/AP Baldock SubD Hertfordshire AncC |
| Place names: | BALDOCK | BAUDOC |
| Place: | Baldock |
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