Fleetwoold History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Fleetwoold is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Fleetwoold family once lived near a creek, perhaps with a wood nearby. Fleet is derived from the Old English word fleot, for a rapidly rushing stream. The suffix "wood" was probably added to the name later. 1

Early Origins of the Fleetwoold family

The surname Fleetwoold was first found in Lincolnshire at Fleet, a parish, in the union of Holbeach, hundred of Elloe, parts of Holland. 2 There are other villages and parishes named Fleet in Dorset and Hampshire, but this parish is the oldest as it was listed as Fleot in the Domesday Book of 1086. 3

Fleet Street in London which is named after the River Fleet, London's largest underground river is probably the most famous use of the word "fleet." This street was the home of British national newspapers until the 1980s. Fleet Prison, built in 1197 was a notorious London prison adjacent to the River Fleet and was active until 1844 and later demolished in 1846.

As far as the surname is concerned, the first records were listed in Lincolnshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: John de Flete; Richard de Flet; and Laurence de Flete. 4

Early History of the Fleetwoold family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fleetwoold research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1421, 1465, 1648, 1688, 1689, 1692, 1700 and 1712 are included under the topic Early Fleetwoold History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fleetwoold Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Fleetwoold family name include Fleet, Fleete, Flete and others.

Early Notables of the Fleetwoold family

Distinguished members of the family include John Flete (fl. 1421-1465), a Benedictine monk, prior of Westminster Abbey in the reign of Henry VI, and the author of a Latin chronicle of the early history of that foundation, entered the monastery of St. Peter's, Westminster, about 1421. 5 Sir John Fleet (1648-1712), the son of the innkeeper Richard...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fleetwoold Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Fleetwoold family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Fleetwoold surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Benjamin Fleet who settled in Virginia in 1774; Elizabeth Fleet settled in Maryland in 1742; Elizabeth Fleet settled in Montserrat in 1685; John Fleet settled in Virginia in 1652.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print