Fleet Pond
Protected area in Fleet, Hampshire, England
title: "Fleet Pond" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["local-nature-reserves-in-hampshire", "sites-of-special-scientific-interest-in-hampshire", "fleet,-hart", "alder-carrs"] description: "Protected area in Fleet, Hampshire, England" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_Pond" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Protected area in Fleet, Hampshire, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox SSSI"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | F07 Sunrise Dec VJ1.JPG |
| name | Fleet Pond |
| aos | Hampshire |
| interest | Biological |
| gridref | |
| area | 48.3 ha |
| notifydate | 1984 |
| map | Magic Map |
| :: |
|image= F07 Sunrise Dec VJ1.JPG |image_caption = |name= Fleet Pond |aos= Hampshire |interest=Biological |gridref= |area= 48.3 ha |notifydate= 1984 |map= Magic Map Fleet Pond is a 48.3 ha biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Fleet in Hampshire. It is also a Local Nature Reserve.
Geography and Biodiversity
This large and shallow lake, fed by Fleet Brook, is surrounded by reed beds, alder carr and oak and birch woodland. The lake has a rich aquatic flora and fauna, including large populations of reed warblers and other wetland birds.
The pond has varied habitats surrounding it, including heathland, marsh, reedbed and woodland.
History
The pond is first documented in 1324, when there were two ponds which were used as a fishery. In medieval times, "pond" always referred to a man-made structure, whereas "lake" referred to a natural feature, and so it is likely that the ponds were created by raising banks at the northern edge. From 1491, the Prior of Winchester leased the ponds to the occupier of Fleet Farm, in exchange for one hundred fresh fish a year, delivered to Winchester. When the lease was renewed in 1833, it was noted that there was now only one pond. The second pond was probably near Ancells Farm. Shortly afterwards, the London and Southampton Railway bought the pond for £50 as it stood in the way of their line, and built an embankment across the northern end. They appreciated its potential as a tourist destination, and opened Fleet Pond Halt so that day trippers could visit it. Much of the surrounding area became a military training ground in 1854, and as part of that training, soldiers built a 470 yd trestle bridge across it in 1885. During the Second World War, the pond was drained, to make the area less visible to enemy aircraft, but it was refilled in 1947, and planted with reeds. The pond became one of the first SSSIs in Hampshire in 1951, and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, duly re-registered, but to omit the portion north of the embankment. Hart District Council bought the pond and surrounding heath in 1972, after the army dubbed it redundant, and since 1976 has worked with the Fleet Pond Society to create a Local nature reserve. They have installed two bridges to create a circular walk around the pond.{{cite web |url=http://fleetpond.org.uk/history-of-the-pond/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707035926/http://fleetpond.org.uk/history-of-the-pond/ |archive-date=7 July 2016 |url-status=live |last=Society |title=History |publisher=Fleet Pond Society |year=2016
References
References
- "Designated Sites View: Fleet Pond". Natural England.
- "Map of Fleet Pond". Natural England.
- "Fleet Pond". Natural England.
- "Map of Fleet Pond". Natural England.
- Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 map
- "Fleet Pond citation". Natural England.
- "Fleet Pond". Hart District Council.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::