✔870. The Dripping Pan

Lewes 2-1 Potters Bar TownIsthmian League Premier DivisionSaturday 25th March 2023

Lewes is the county town of East Sussex. The civil parish and market town is the center of the Lewes local government district and the seat of East Sussex County Council. The town is situated approximately seven miles north-east of Brighton, on the Greenwich or Prime Meridian, in a gap in the South Downs, which cuts through by the River Ouse. 

The place-name 'Lewes' first appears in an Anglo-Saxon charter circa 961 AD and in the Domesday Book of 1086.The traditional derivation of Læwe, first posited by the Tudor antiquarian Laurence Nowell, derives it from an Old English language word meaning 'hill' or 'barrow', presumably referring to School Hill, on which the historic center of Lewes stands.

In 1264 it was the site of the Battle of Lewes and its landmarks include its castle and priory, Bull House (the former home of political -activist Thomas Paine), Southover Grange and a 16th-century timber-framed Wealden hall house known as Anne of Cleves House.

Lewes F.C. was established in a meeting at the Royal Oak pub(one of several I supped in)on the 23rd September 1885, becoming founder members of the East Sussex League the following year. Their league career got off to an awful start and after finishing bottom of the Senior Division again in 1900–01, without winning a game, they left the league. They later joined the Mid-Sussex League Senior Division in 1905, twice finishing as runners-up before winning the league in 1910–11. The club played in the reformed East Sussex League and won the Mid-Sussex League title again in 1913-14. After World War I they spent the 1919–20 season in the Brighton, Hove & District League, before becoming founder members of the Sussex County League.

Sussex County League 1920 - 1965: Champions 1964-65

Athenian League 1965 - 1977: Division 2 champions 1967–68 Division 1 champions 1969–70

Isthmian League 1977 - 2004: Division Two champions 2001–02, Division One South champions 2003–04

Conference South 2004 - 2011: champions 2007-08 (one season in Conference 2008-09)

Isthmian League Premier Division 2011 - present

The Dripping Pan

Mountfield Rd, 

Lewes 

BN7 2XA

Capacity 3,000 (600 seats)

The Rooks have played at the Dripping Pan every year since 1885, apart from a couple of seasons immediately prior to the First World War when the club played at the adjoining Convent Field. It had previously been used by Lewes Priory Cricket Club, though the ground itself had been used by the local community for recreation, as far back as records exist, with the earliest known cricket match taking place in August 1730 between 2nd Duke of Richmond's XI v Sir William Gage's XI.

You enter the ground from behind the goal via the top of the covered Philcox Terrace, which opened in April 2003. To the side of the terrace is a unique feature of four beach huts, which sit on top of the bank, doubling as cool executive boxes. At the other side of the terrace is the clubhouse with the changing room block in the corner.

The main Rookery Stand, opened in July 2007, replacing the old wooden South stand. The well-designed stand runs pitch length and has a standing area at the top, with the back wall displaying a gallery of football scarves from all over the world. 

The Ham Lane End is an uncovered terrace and opposite the main stand is a grass bank, where spectators are permitted on the flat walkway along the top, offering fine views of the action and the South Downs. 

Lewes 2(Champion 30 Taylor 45+3)

Potters Bar Town 1(Evans 86)

Isthmian Premier Division matchday 37

7th v 13th

3pm ko

Att.897

Spondoolicks:

Admission £13

Coffee £1.50

Pin badge purchased from Dave the badge seller, along with another six from clubs of other grounds I've visited -  7 for £18. Spot on! Cheers!

First half goals from Tom Champion and Joe Taylor set the Rooks on their way to another win in their bid for the play-offs.

Champion flicked home a near post header from a corner on the half hour, then just before the break Taylor made space in the box to turn and slot the ball into the bottom corner.

Potters Bar halved the deficit when Makise Evans* received a neat through ball and fired home with five minutes left, but they failed to test the home defence and Mundle-Smith missed a great chance to seal it late on. 

*At 16 years 217 days - the Stevenage loanee became the youngest ever goalscorer for Potters Bar Town. 

#Heedhopper

350 miles door-to-door

Trains - Newcastle - London King's Cross/London Bridge-Brighton/Brighton - Lewes

The visit to Lewes was part of a long weekend break for the breadknife and I. We stopped off in London on Thursday, before taking the train to Brighton on Friday morning. We visited numerous pubs over the weekend, including ten bars in Lewes. The frequent train journey from Brighton to Lewes takes just over fifteen minutes, so we jumped the 1130 and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through this historic town. Before the match we had lunch in the Snowdrop Inn, then bevvies in The Dorset, Gardner's Arms and the John Harvey.

As always, wherever I go, I usually bump into someone I know, even after a canny hike like this, so it was good to chat to Danny Last in the clubhouse at half time.

After the match we arranged to meet in the Brewers Arms, then continued the pub crawl, calling at the Black Horse, Rights of Man, Elephant and Castle, Royal Oak and finishing off at the Landsdown Arms.

We caught the 1925 back to Brighton, where we enjoyed a pleasant evening and overall, a very enjoyable weekend in East Sussex.