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Formed in 1923, following the merger of Peacehaven
Rangers and Telscombe Tye. The newly formed club
originally played on a piece of land called The Tye,
owned by the local squire (hence the Club nickname).
Peacehaven (the abridged name is most commonly used)
joined Division Two of the Sussex County League in
1969-70 after winning the Brighton League with a
100% record, and finished in their inaugural season.
In 1975-76 they won promotion as runners-up to
Selsey. After finishing as runners-up to Shoreham in
1977/78, Peacehaven lifted what was to be the first
of seven Division One titles the following season.
After finishing a disappointing 12th in 1979/80, the
club once again finished as runners-up, this time to
Pagham, in 1980/81, before adding a further two
League titles in 1981/82 and 1982/83.
A
comparatively mediocre spell then ensued but a third
runners-up spot in 1990/91, when they lost out on
goal difference to champions Littlehampton Town, was
to herald a period of dominance in the County
League. Between 1992 and 1997, Peacehaven lifted the
Division One championship on four occasions, and in
the other two seasons finished 4th (1993/94) and 3rd
(1996/97). The club also won the League Challenge
Cup in 1991 and 1992, and enjoyed great runs in the
FA Cup and FA Vase.
Peacehaven’s best run in the FA Cup was in 1990/91,
when they reached the 4th Qualifying Round, only to
lose 2-3 at Tiverton Town. That season, eventual
champions Littlehampton also reached the 1st Round
proper of the competition. The club reached the 5th
Round of the FA Vase in 1992/93 before losing to a
solitary goal at Gresley Rovers; and went one better
in 1995/96 when they were beaten by the same score
at Clitheroe at the Quarter Final stage.
April 1995 saw the first ever Sunday fixture in the
County League, when just over a 1,000 spectators saw
Peacehaven beat eventual runners-up Stamco (later
St. Leonards, now defunct) at Piddinghoe Avenue. The
irony was that it was the runners-up who were
promoted to the Southern League at the end of that
season, whilst with their emphasis on the team
rather than their facilities, Peacehaven had little
hope of further progression.
That lack of ambition, foresight, and dwindling
finances ultimately told, with Peacehaven relegated
to Division Two at the end of the 1997/98 season.
After three seasons however, they returned to the
top flight as runners-up to Southwick (another club
with an illustrious history), and also won the
Division Two League Cup.
Sadly though, Peacehaven were relegated once more at
the end of the 2002/03 season, with attendances
plummeting to the lowest in Division Two the
following season. 2004/05 saw an improvement in the
latter but things were no better on the pitch as the
Tye were relegated to Division Three and
Intermediate football, for the first time in the
club’s history - something that would have been
unthinkable just ten years earlier.
Fortunately the stay in Division Three was brief,
and the club won promotion at the first attempt, two
points ahead of runners-up Lingfield. The season
also saw a memorable ‘double’ with a 2-1 victory
over Eastbourne Town Reserves in the Final of the
Sussex Intermediate Cup. However, The Tye were
unable to complete a treble, as holders Rustington
retained the Vernon Wentworth Cup, winning 1-0.
After two seasons of agonisingly missing promotion
on the last game of the season, the Club's return to
the top flight was finally secured in 2009 - winning
Division 2 for the first time (and so becoming one
of the few sides to win all 3 Divisions of the
County League)
Most pundits predicted 2009-10 to be a season of
consolidation, but the first season back in Division
1 nearly saw Peacehaven complete a famous treble -
winning the R.U.R. and League Cup's, but finishing
as Runners-Up in the League to Whitehawk.
With the Reserve and Youth sides also collecting
honours, and ground improvements in the pipe-line,
the Club hope to build on recent success over the
next few seasons. |
