DATING BACK AS FAR AS THE ROMAN OCCUPATION IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. BALDOCK IS BELIEVED TO BE FROM THE OLD FRENCH FOR BALDAC.

By the end of the sixth century the Knights Templar founded the town in the 1140's.
At the end of the twelfth century the Templars were disbanded and replaced by the Knights Hospitaller.

Situated at the point where the Icknield Way and the Great North Road cross, Baldock was a major staging post between London and the North. Many of the old coaching Inns still remain as pubs today. Baldock has seen a number of illustrious visitors including Dick Turpin, as well as Charles I and Ludwig II of Bavaria. Ludwig II stayed in 1879 on the recommendation of Richard Wallace, to whom he had written for advice on England's medieval architecture. Sir Richard advised Ludwig II to take a tour of English villages, surveying as he travelled the variety of ecclesiastical buildings. Ludwig II expressed particular admiration for the buildings of Hertfordshire.

Baldock boasts a large listed building in the town, which formally housed the Kayser Bondor Company and now hosts Tesco supermarket.

Another notable building is the thirteenth century Parish Church of St Mary.

Brewing and Malting were major industries in the town in the past. Nowadays apart from some light industry Baldock is mainly a commuter town. Baldock has retained much of its medieval past, but continued to adapt to become the modern thriving town that it is today.