Place Name
Named after the, now covered, River Fleet which flowed near here. Originally the name only referred to the lower end of the River Holborn, a fleet being the Old English word for an inlet or creek. But, perhaps because of its position in the City, over time the whole of the course became known by the name. The river was first mentioned as Fleta before the Norman Conquest sometime around 1012 and later as Flietam in 1159 and Flete in 1199. The street itself took its name as Fletestrete in 1272 having earlier in 1228 been recorded as Fleet Bridge Street.
