About Fleet - Fleet, Hampshire

Fleet town did not exist until the last century. In 1840 the railway from London was completed and Fleet Pond station was built for the benefit of day-trippers. Many Londoners decided to settle in the area, and houses were built along Fleet Road. By 1860 there were 300 inhabitants of whom 30 or 40 were children. There was no school until 1860 and no church until 1861, as Fleet was still in the parish of Crondall. In 1878 several acres of land were sold to a property developer from Farnborough, and a housing estate was planned in the American style with the roads in a grid pattern. Many building plots were sold on a hire-purchase system, shops and pubs appeared and tradesmen moved in to make the community complete.