Fleet, Hampshire

This north-east corner of Hampshire had shallow and sandy, slightly acidic soil, much of it boggy or covered in gorse and bracken (see Bagshot Formation). It held little use for agriculture compared to the long-grazed chalk lands and belts of alluvial areas of the rest of the county. The Fleet area has yielded few archaeological finds.[7] Isaac Taylor's Map of Hampshire (1759) shows three small habitations in the area that was later to become Fleet.[8]

Areas and suburbs of Fleet town are Pondtail, Ancells Park and Elvetham Heath. The villages of Crookham Village and Church Crookham are contiguous with the town. Immediately surrounding towns and villages include Winchfield, Dogmersfield, Crondall, Ewshot, and Hartley Wintney.

The Fleet Pond nature reserve is a beauty spot on the northern edge of the town. Fleet Pond is the largest freshwater lake in Hampshire. Being very shallow, Fleet Pond is actively managed and needs regular dredging to avoid it silting up.[9] In times past, the lake has frozen over, permitting skating.

View of Fleet Pond. The railway line is about 100 metres to the left of the picture.

The site of Fleet was originally heathland in the northern part of the Crondall Hundred. The name Fleet was probably derived from the Norman French word La Flete meaning a stream or shallow water - a reference to the Fleet Pond from which fish had been taken for the monks in Winchester in Medieval times.[8]

In 1792, the Basingstoke Canal opened. The canal passed through the town site, but apart from a few inns to serve the passing trade, it had little effect on the locality. Apart from the Farnham to Reading road, the site remained largely undeveloped until the construction of the London and South Western Railway, which opened in 1840. In that year, a church - Christ Church, which was to become the heart of the new ecclesiastical parish of Ewshot and Crookham, was built midway between the villages of Crookham and Ewshot. This parish included the area that was to become the town of Fleet. The railway company promoted Fleet Pond for a destination for day excursions, and many people came down from London to skate on the Pond during the Winter. This attracted a number of gentry, particularly retired army officers, who moved to the area bounded by Fleet Road, Elvetham Road and Reading Road North,[11] and laid the foundations of what was to become known locally as "The Blue Triangle".[12]

All Saints Church

By 1860, Charles Lefroy, a local squire, commissioned All Saints' Church – in the Blue Triangle area, in memory of his wife who had died in 1857. The architect was William Burges. The ecclesiastical parish of Ewshot and Crookam was split into two in 1862, with the northern section based on All Saints' church becoming the new parish of Fleet. On 22 June 2015, the roof of All Saints' church was destroyed by fire following an arson attack.[13] The church was returned to a condition where it could hold services by 30 April 2023 when it was reconsecrated.[14]

The development of Fleet accelerated when the land to the south east of the Blue Triangle was sold for development in 1882. Development on this land was laid out in a grid pattern.

Fleet is administered by Hart District Council and Hampshire County Council.[21] The parliamentary constituency is North East Hampshire. In April 2010, some of the responsibilities of Hart District Council were devolved to three[22] new parish councils: Fleet Town Council,[23] Elvetham Heath Parish Council[24] and Church Crookham Parish Council.[25]

Men in the Fleet North ward had the second highest life expectancy at birth, 89.7 years, of any ward in England and Wales in 2016.[27]

The town has a number of schools including:

• Crookham CE Infants
• Fleet Infants
• Heatherside Infants
• Heatherside Juniors[28]
• All Saints[29]
• Tavistock Infant School[30]
• Elvetham Heath Primary School
• Church Crookham Juniors
• Tweseldown Infants
• Velmead Junior School[31]
• Calthorpe Park School[32]
• Court Moor School
• St Nicholas' School (independent, girls-only)

Fleet is the home of the North Hants Golf Club. For over one hundred years, it has been a top-ranked course in Hampshire and nationally. Justin Rose was a junior member of the club, and there is now a meeting room named after him.[36]

Fleet has four Non-League football teams: Fleet Town F.C., who play at Calthorpe Park, Fleet Spurs F.C., who play at Kennels Lane, Fleet Albion, who play at Dippenhall St., Crondall, and FC Fleet, who play at Zebon Copse.

Fleet has a half marathon, commonly used in preparation for the London Marathon, and an athletics club, Fleet & Crookham AC.[37]

The local press are the Fleet News & Mail, a broadsheet available in local shops, and the Surrey-Hants Star Courier, a free tabloid delivered to the door. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from the Hannington TV transmitter,[38] some areas of the town can also pick up a signal from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter that broadcast BBC London and ITV London. [39] Fleet is covered by BBC Radio Surrey and Greatest Hits Radio Surrey and North East Hampshire which both radio stations covers North-East Hampshire additionally.

The town has numerous events organised by the local carnival committee, the largest of those being Fleet Carnival in the summer, and the switching on of the Christmas lights as December approaches (known as Fleet Festivities), usually held the last Wednesday in November and taking place along the main street (Fleet Road), which is pedestrianised for the evening's events. The committee also arrange food festivals, attracting stands run by local restaurants and talks and demonstrations held in large marquees.

Other yearly events in Fleet include a Half Marathon, Fleet 10K, a beer festival organised by the local Lions Club, a Fireworks night, and the Elvetham Heath Car Show.

Gurkha Square, named after the Gurkhas who were based in Fleet for many years,[40] houses the Fleet war memorial. A market takes place every Saturday in Gurkha Square. Major buildings on Gurkha Square are Fleet Library, and the Harlington Centre.

• The actress Juliet Aubrey was born in Fleet in 1969.[41]
• The musician Tim Battersby was born in Fleet in 1949.[41]
• Air Vice Marshall Cecil Bouchier was born in Fleet in 1895.[41]
• The New Zealand lawyer and naturalist Walter Buller died in Fleet in 1906.[42]
• The actress Raquel Cassidy was born in Fleet in 1968.[41]
• The musician and author Alan Clayson grew up in Fleet.[43]
• The racing driver Jac Constable, who won the AM class of the Ginetta GT4 Supercup in 2018 grew up and lives in Fleet.[44]
• Murder victim Marion Crofts lived in Fleet.[45]
• The magazine editor, journalist and broadcaster Mark Ellen grew up in Fleet.[41]
• The professional tennis player John Feaver was born in Fleet in 1952.[41]
• Sir Carron Greig died in Fleet on 11 July 2012, aged 87
• Patrick Hannan, drummer in The Sundays, was born in Fleet.
• The comedian, musician and actor Rob Hoey is from Fleet.
• The professional footballer Keith Hooker was born in Fleet in 1950.
• The platform diver Gemma McArthur, competitor for Team Scotland in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, is from Fleet.[41][46][47][48]
• The racing driver Jack Mitchell, who won the GT4 class of the British GT Championship in 2018 lives in Fleet.
• Alison Robins (1920-2017), worked at Bletchley Park "Y-Service", born in Fleet
• The golfer Justin Rose was a member of the North Hants Golf Club in Fleet.[41][49]
• The art critic and man of letters, John Russell, was born in Fleet in 1919.[41][50]
• The racing driver Dan Welch, who competed in the British Touring Car Championship between 2011 and 2018 lives in Fleet.
• Mabel Wickham, landscape artist, was born in Fleet in 1901.[41]

The following people or military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Fleet.

• Basingstoke Canal

• Fleet Town Council