Lincolnshire county page

Contents

Lincolnshire Towns & Parishes

Nearby Places

Fleet

Census

• Fleet was part of the Holbeach sub-district of the Holbeach Registration District.
  
  
• In 1891 the southern portion of the parish was reassigned to the Gedney Hill subdistrict of the Holbeach Registration District.
  
  
• The Lincolnshire Archives holds census returns for Fleet for the years 1811, 1821, and 1831. Normally, these will have only a surname and a count of males and females by age bracket.
  
  
• We have a small file of surnames found in the 1901 Census extract. Please feel free to submit additional entries.
  
  
• Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
  
  
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

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Church History

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalen and is an ancient structure. There is an old tower, separated from the church by several yards.
  
  
• Here is a photo of St. Mary Magdalen Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• The Anglican parish registers exist from 1561.
  
  
• We have a small extract file from the Fleet parish register. Please feel free to add your own entries (see contact info below).
  
  
• Also check out the file of Fleet Phillimore Marriages.
  
  
• The Lincolnshire FHS provides several marriage indexes and a burial index for the East Elloe Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The Baptists built a chapel here in 1764, which had a burial ground and minister's house adjoining. The Unitarians also had a chapel here before 1842. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
  
  
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
  
  

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Civil Registration

• Fleet was part of the Holbeach sub-district of the Holbeach Registration District.
  
  
• In 1891 the southern portion of the parish was reassigned to the Gedney Hill subdistrict of the Holbeach Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
  
  

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Description and Travel

Fleet is both a village and parish about 100 miles north of London, about six miles west of Spalding. Holbeach parish lies to the northwest. The parish is large is a long, narrow affair running roughly north and south to the border of Cambridgeshire, and incorporates the hamlet of Fleet Hargate. The A17 trunk road runs through the parish. The area is marshy, drained by many small canals and the South Holland Main Drain. In land area, it is approximately 6,560 acres.

If you are planning a visit:

• The village is just off the A17 trunk road.
  
  
• See our touring page for area resources.
  
  

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History

• The Earls of Bedford started to drain the Fens around Fleet in the 17th century.
  
  
• The parish had a station on the Bourn and Lynn rail line in the mid-19th century.
  
  

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Manors

Three Manors are mentioned in the old directories for Fleet:

• Fleet Dominorum.
  
  
• Fleet Fitzwalter.
  
  
• Fleet Harrington.
  
  

An older Manor, called Blanches or Branches, where Captain J. H. BARKER was lord, was extinct by 1872. Although White's 1872 Directory lists an Edward MILLINGTON, land agent, as the resident at Branches Manor House, so the house itself may have been standing at that time.

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 3823.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #249 map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Names, Geographical

• The name Fleet is from the Old English fleot, or "stream". In the 1086 Domesday book, the village is recorded under the Old English name as Fleot.
  [A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• The parish was in the ancient Elloe Wapentake in the South Holland district and parts of Holland in the 19th century.
  
  
• For today's governance, visit the local South Holland District Council site. (JB)
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• The Common Fields were enclosed here in 1794.
  
  
• After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Holbeach Poor Law Union.
  
  
• The Holbeach Union Workhouse is in this parish.
  
  

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Population

The 1891 population, and probably most of the other years after 1837, includes the staff and inmates in the Holbeach Union Workhouse.

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Schools

• A Free School was endowed in 1727, although the date of first classes is unknown. It was free to all poor children. That building was rebuilt in 1813. A new school was built in 1842.
  
  
• Wood Lane School was built in 1878 and enlarged in 1895.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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