Byfleet, which simply means 'by the fleet (or River Wey)', formed part of the estates of Chertsey Abbey from the 7th century but by 1312 it was held by King Edward II. This unfortunate king was often at Byfleet from where he issued many ordinances during his reign. Edward was deposed and then murdered in horrible circumstances in 1327.

It is said that Henry VIII often stayed at Byfleet Manor, which was a royal hunting lodge, during his childhood and, as king, in 1533 he granted the manor to Catherine of Aragon. Catherine died in 1536. Queen Elizabeth is known to have visited Byfleet in 1576. In about 1616 James I granted it to his queen, Anne of Denmark, who is said to have rebuilt the manor house. Some features of her house still survive, although much of the house seen today dates from 1686.

The River Wey was made navigable from the Thames near Weybridge to Guildford in 1653 and this must given trade and industry in Byfleet a boost. There was a paper mill here in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and later a brass and iron mill, which made items such as iron hoops and copper and brass wire.

Although trains passed to the north and west of Byfleet as early as 1838, it was not until 1887 that a railway station, now know as 'West Byfleet', was opened nearby. In 1927 a second station originally called 'West Weybridge' opened to the north of Byfleet village. It was renamed 'Byfleet and New Haw' in 1961.