Origin of Baldock

    I thought you might like to know the origin of the name BALDOCK. It goes back to 1150 when the Knight's Templars founded the town of Baldock. I quote from "A Day for St. Mary's" published in 1984: "The town first appeared by being associated with the Knights Templar, for it was they who literally built the town. Some say it was first called 'Baudac' or 'Baudoc' and that this was a Norman-French form of Baghdad, a place which would have been familiar in the Templar days. Salmon (a Hertfordshire historian) in 1721 says the name is from 'Bagdet' or Baldack' near Babylon, which was in the possession of the Knights Templar until 100 yrs after the founding of Baldock."

"The Templars soon set about building a Church (eventually becoming St. Mary's) after receiving the gift of land and this would have been about 1150. (The gift of land was from Gilbert, Earl of Pembroke, the then feudal lord, who granted the Templars some 120 acres of land from the Manor of Weston.)"

People were named after the town they lived in....Richard de Baldock (Richard of Baldock) and eventually was Richard Baldock.

The town of Baldock is a quaint little village about 30 miles north of London. It has many very old buildings.

Written by Margaret Baldock 24/10/00

Baldock is the 32,441st most popular last name (surname) in the United States