The 'Blues' as the club are nicknamed, initially played at Watson's Meadow, which was located at the station end of High Street. In 1923 Lord Calthorpe of Elvetham Hall made available a new ground. It was later bequeathed to the local council for non-commercial recreational use.
The team played its football in local league competitions, until 1961 when they became members of the Hampshire League. Two years later the ground was renamed Calthorpe Park as the club added Town to its name, and over the next fourteen years, the team progressed through the divisions of the league to become challengers for the main championship.
In 1977 Fleet joined the Athenian League. In 1984 the club could not carry out the required ground improvements, so they spent time in the Combined Counties League, Surrey County League and Chiltonian League.
The club was at a low ebb, but a new Chairman arrived and he reinvigorated the club committee. Basic ground improvements were made meaning that they could join the Wessex League in 1989. In 1992 the old Main Stand burnt down, but it was replaced with a new structure as well as more improvements being carried out.
The 1994-95 season saw Town being crowned Wessex League champions, and they were rewarded with promotion to the Southern League. 2000 saw relegation back to the Wessex League, but they returned to the Southern League two years later.
In 2004 non-league football was restructured so Town found themselves placed in the Isthmian League. A new management team of Andy Sinton and Steve Mellor arrived for the start of the 2005-06 season, which led to improved crowds and the club finishing in its highest-ever league position.
Local and county cup finals were reached over the following few seasons as the club were moved to the Southern League once again for the 2007-08 season. The Blues finished second in the league and went on to lose to Uxbridge in the Division One South & West playoffs.
Because of Fleet's geographical location, the club were borderline for which league they should be placed in and it depended on the locations of other promoted and relegated clubs. It happened once again for the 2008-09 season as they were placed back in the Isthmian League. They reached the playoffs once again, where they went down to Metropolitan Police.
At the end of the 2009-10 season, Andy Sinton moved on from the club to take the manager job at AFC Telford United, leaving Steve Mellor in charge. Fleet returned for more Southern League competition for the 2011-12 season. Craig Davies was appointed as player-manager in November 2011.
Fleet were switched to Division One South & West before returning to Division One Central for the 2015-16 campaign. It would be renamed Division One East in 2017-18. Placed in Division One South for the 2017-18 season, Koo Dumbuya and Sam Waters initially took charge of the side in what would be a difficult time.
Most of the squad from the previous season departed owing to the distances needed to be travelled in the new division, which led to poor results and the club going through four managers. It ended in relegation to the Premier Division of the Wessex League.
Dave Kelly was installed as manager in the summer of 2019 and a new board was put in place. Two abandoned seasons owing to the worldwide pandemic followed, with Town being placed in Premier Division South of the Combined Counties League upon full resumption in 2021-22.
Jermaine McGlashan was appointed as manager while the club restructured to become community-focused which saw additional men's and women's teams added to their portfolio and crowds for first-team games increasing. Elliot Hunt was named manager in the summer of 2023.
Darryl Evans became joint manager alongside Hunt before taking over sole charge in August 2024.
Fleet Town FC will play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division South in the 2024-25 season.My visit
Wednesday 20th June 2012
I always like to use my days off from work doing something rather than sitting at home, so with the weather set fair I set out to see some old and new football grounds and update my photos. Having originally considered a ride to Sussex and Surrey I changed my mind to my original option I headed across to Waterloo to take a train to Farnborough.
While on the train I realised that it would be calling at Fleet after my intended destination. I quickly looked at the map app on my IPhone and thought that Cawthorpe Park looked a reasonable distance from Fleet station, so when the helpful ticket collector came round, she sold me an extended return for just £1.
I alighted at the station and realised I had either twenty or forty minutes to complete my task. I set out aiming at the quicker time but quickly realised that it was quite a bit further than I had envisaged. Fleet Road led into High Road where there was a nice shopping area.
This continued into Crookham Road, which was leading out of town on the other side. Along my walk, I'd looked at the bus timetables by the stops to see if there was a quicker way to return, but it didn't look good. Then just near to the ground, I saw a service that went to Farnborough and was due ten minutes later.
This would be ideal as it saved a long walk and would drop me near the home of Cove FC, another intended drop-off. I got a move on as I entered the car park by the clubhouse at Calthorpe Park. A brewery wagon was dropping deliveries off, but there was no one else around and the ground was locked. Fortunately, the perimeter fences were not too high, so I got good views all around.
The ground was very picturesque and tree-lined behind the fence on three sides. Both ends had small covers and a few steps. The far touchline had both subs benches and open standing. The Main Stand stood in front of the clubhouse on the final side along with a small cover alongside it with the player's tunnel. There was open standing on either side of it.
I completed my task and jogged around the corner to the bus stop. Time was very tight and I stood there for five minutes after the bus was due, more in hope than expectation if I was being honest.
The ground was very picturesque and tree-lined behind the fence on three sides. Both ends had small covers and a few steps. The far touchline had both subs benches and open standing. The Main Stand stood in front of the clubhouse on the final side along with a small cover alongside it with the player's tunnel. There was open standing on either side of it.
I completed my task and jogged around the corner to the bus stop. Time was very tight and I stood there for five minutes after the bus was due, more in hope than expectation if I was being honest.
Luckily for me, the service was running late, and I was delighted when the 'hoppa' came around the corner. I had an interesting ride through small villages listening to elderly residents discuss the issues of the day.
My call to Fleet Town had been completely unplanned, but I was glad I had made the effort.
My call to Fleet Town had been completely unplanned, but I was glad I had made the effort.
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