Lewes Football Club

The town of Lewes prides itself on its world famous and historic football club.

Lewes FC’s home ground, The Dripping Pan, is situated around the corner from the railway station in Mountfield Road, just a few minutes’ walk from the town centre. It’s also very near Lewes’ ancient Priory Ruins, and legend has it that the stadium takes its name from the Cluniac monks who used to pan for salt in its hollowed-out bowl.

If you’re lucky enough to visit Lewes during the football season do check the fixtures at Lewes FC because a match at ‘The Pan’ is a match like none you’ve attended before.

Lewes FC are affectionately nicknamed ‘The Rooks’ - after both the black, grey-beaked corvids who nest around the stadium and the town’s castle. The club has been 100% community-owned since 2010, boasting some 2200 owners in 37 countries around the world at the time of writing. Around half of these owners live in and around Lewes. Some 25% are from the rest of the UK, and the rest are spread all over the world. More famous owners include tennis coach Judy Murray, former Chelsea FC medic Dr. Eva Carneiro, cricket legend Jonty Rhodes, rugby star Ugo Monye, and Welsh singer and broadcaster Cerys Matthews.

Lewes FC is famously the first (and still the only) football club in the world to split its resources equally between its women’s and men’s teams, winning accolades’ including the United Nations ‘He For She’ Award.

The club has a well-earned reputation not only for its campaigning stance to ‘do football better’ but also for its warm welcome. It was recently voted the Number 1 football ground to visit in ‘British Football’s Greatest Grounds’ - copies of which can be purchased from Lewes Tourist Information Centre. An away fan explained that, ‘It’s the only ground where you can eat hummus in the terraces and not be laughed at’.

Season 21-22 saw both first teams sell out the stadium with 2,347 fans coming through the turnstiles once for Lewes FC Men and once for Lewes FC Women, to watch their beloved Rooks take on the likes of Worthing on the men’s side and Liverpool on the women’s. The season ended on a historic high as Lewes FC Women defeated league champions Liverpool 2-1 in a match described variously as ‘an insane game of football’, ‘the most fantastic game of football I’ve ever been to’, and ‘a superb match and vibe which I was honoured to be cheering at’.

Famous as much for its historic flint walls, as for its beach huts and community garden, Lewes FC is a unique combination of quality winning football, and ground-breaking impact.

So, if you’re after a dose of positivity in a beloved Lewesian setting, visit the Dripping Pan and feel free to shout along with the rest of them - ‘Come On You Rooks!’ The football season runs from August to April and match tickets and club merchandise can be found at LewesFC.com