Baldock Sights - Part 2 Preview

BAHC

Start the walk

The George at Baldock (George & Dragon)

First recorded in 1591; this is assumed to be the inn visited in 1655 by George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, as travelling Quakers continued to use it.In 1777 it was bought by John Pryor, the brewer. It was a busy coaching inn with extensive stabling, part of which was on land rented from the adjoining churchyard from 1692 A large smithy stood opposite, on the island in the High Street market place, later the Town Hall. Despite its prime position it did not become the town’s leading inn until after the closure of the old White Horse in 1864. The present building was ‘new built in brick’ in 1792; the further wing on the left is 20th century.

The Pretty Lamp (Closed)

The Pretty Lamp was at number 6 Church Street, but is now a private house.

The Victoria

First opened in 1736 as the Sun but was renamed the Victoria Inn in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Jubilee, demolished and rebuilt in 1925.

The Saracens Head (Closed)

The Saracens Head closed in 1905 now demolished.

Plume of Feathers (closed)

Closed in 1902 - site of Barclays Bank

The Rose & Crown

The Rose & Crown

The Greyhound (closed)

The Greyhound pub was better known as the Rose and Crown Tap. It is now shops (Sue Ryder and possibly Ladbrokes)

The Checkers (Closed)

Please note that the usual spelling of this pub’s name was the Checkers as seen in the old pubsign in the photo and at the time of its closure in the 1990s. This pub closed in around 1990 and is now in commercial use

The White Horse Hotel (closed)

The White Horse Hotel burnt down in the 1900's but some still remains as private houses (37 and 39 Whitehorese Street)This coaching inn, with its principal entrance in Whitehorse Street, was for better class travellers and the Royal Mail coaches, and had stabling for up to 150 horses.Many of the long-distance coaches stopped here, every day or every other day, to and from Glasgow, Leeds, York, Lincoln, and StamfordBy the late 18th century the Falcon had become the tap of the White Horse. The inn declined after the opening the the railway in 1850; it finally closed in 1864 and became a school, but soon afterwards most of the building was burnt out. The White Horse tap, which had once been the Falcon Inn, became the Old White Horse public house.

Old White Horse

The Old White Horse pub stands in the yard of the old White Horse Inn and is thought to have been its "tap" or public bar. It is thought to have been built on the site of the former Falcon Inn which is known to have existed in the early 18th century.

Tabot Inn

The building is now called Raban Court but these 16th Century buildingswere once an inn called the Talbot. The Talbot was a hunting dog and the open fields to the east of the town were famed for hunting and coursing. The dog also featured on the arms of the Burgoynes, 16th century Lords of Clothall Manor in which this area of Baldock once stood. Inthe 18th century these buildings became part of a large complex of maltings.

The Toll Bar

Now a private house

The Compasses

Now a private house

The Bushel and Strike (Closed)

The Bushel and Strike, built about 1870, is now a private house.

The Star (Closed)

This pub was the brewery tap for the Pale Ale Brewery located behind the pub. The brewery was established in 1823 and closed in 1904. The pub passed to Wells & Winch of Biggleswade, they rebuilt it in the 1930s. Greene King took it over and continued to own the pub at the time of its closure in 1980. The premises are now in commercial use.

The Bulls Head (closed)

The Bull’s Head (50 Church Street) is now a private house.It is a 16th or 17th century timber-framed building, of two storeys and attics and with a steeply pitched tiled roof.

The Stag (Closed)

The Stag was demolished in 1970.

The Black Eagle (Closed)

Cosed in 1984 then demolished in 1992.

The Orange Tree

Khoi Khoi Bar and Vino

Opened in 1981 renamed Khoi Khoi Bar and Vino in 2016, this former house was known as the Vintage Wine Bar in the early 1980's, then Dillons Wine Bar, before being renamed The Broken Drum in 1997.

The White Hart

The pub was first mentioned in 1714 but has been rebuilt since then.

BAHC Finish

The Bulls Head (closed)

The Bull’s Head (50 Church Street) is now a private house.It is a 16th or 17th century timber-framed building, of two storeys and attics and with a steeply pitched tiled roof.