Lewes F.C.

Did You Know?

• In 2001–02, Lewes reached the FA Cup first round for the first time, but their home match against Stoke City was moved to the Britannia Stadium, where Stoke won 2–0.
• After winning the Conference South title in 2007–08, manager Steve King and all but one of the first team squad left the club.

History

Lewes Football Club was founded during a gathering at the Royal Oak pub on September 23, 1885. Eleven years later, in 1896, the club helped establish the East Sussex League. Their early years were tough: they ended up at the very bottom of the table in 1898–99 and repeated that feat the following season. When the league split into two divisions in 1899, Lewes was placed in the Senior Division, where they finished last for a third straight year.

After a winless 1900–01 campaign that saw them again at the foot of the Senior Division, the club left the league. They later joined the Mid-Sussex League, entering its Senior Division in 1905. There, they finished as runners-up in 1907–08 and again in 1909–10, before finally claiming the league title in 1910–11. Lewes then moved to a revived East Sussex League, where they were runners-up in 1912–13.

Despite finishing last in that competition the next season, they also competed in the Mid-Sussex League and won that title. After the First World War, they played in the Brighton, Hove & District League for the 1919–20 season. In 1920, they became a founding member of the Sussex County League. Over the years, they finished as runners-up in 1924–25, 1933–34, and 1958–59, and lifted the League Cup in 1938–39.

After another runners-up finish in 1963–64, Lewes won the Sussex County League the following season and stepped up to Division Two of the Athenian League. They won that division in 1967–68, earning promotion to Division One. A third-place finish in their first season there was followed by winning the division on goal average the next year, which moved them up to the Premier Division. In 1977, they switched to Division Two of the Isthmian League, finishing as runners-up in 1979–80 to gain promotion to Division One.

Lewes remained in Division One of the Isthmian League until being relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1990–91 season. Although they were promoted back to Division One the following season after finishing as runners-up in Division Two, they were relegated again in 1992–93 and again in 1993–94, dropping into Division Three. The club were Division Three runners-up in 2000–01 and were promoted to Division Two. The following season saw the club reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time; drawn at home to Stoke City, the match was moved to the Britannia Stadium with Stoke winning 2–0.

The club finished the season by winning the Division Two title to secure promotion to Division One South. After winning the Division One South title in 2003–04, Lewes entered a series of play-offs for promotion to the newly formed Conference South; they defeated Yeading 1–0, Basingstoke Town 4–1 and Kingstonian 1–0 to earn a place in the new sixth tier division. Although the club finished fourth in the Conference South in its inaugural season, they were prevented from taking part in the promotion play-offs as the Dripping Pan did not meet the standards required for the Conference National.

Another fourth-place finish in 2005–06 saw the club again denied the opportunity to participate in the play-offs. In 2006–07 Lewes reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 4–1 at home to Darlington. The following season saw another first round appearance, ending in a 3–0 defeat at Mansfield Town. After winning the Conference South title at the end of the season, the club were promoted to the Conference National, having carried out works on the Dripping Pan.

However, after winning the title, manager Steve King and all-but-one of the first team squad left the club. The following season saw them finish bottom of the Conference National, resulting in relegation back to the Conference South. In 2010 the club was bought for £1 by six fans and turned into a community-owned initiative. In 2010–11 Lewes were relegated to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, where they played until being relegated to Division One South at the end of the 2015–16 season.

In July 2017 the club became the first professional or semi-professional football club to pay its women's team the same as its men's team. They were Division One South runners-up in 2017–18, earning promotion back to the Premier Division.