Peacehaven & Telscombe

Peacehaven & Telscombe is a non-league football club based in the East Sussex coastal town of Peacehaven, a few miles east of Brighton. The club was formed in 1923 following the merger of Peacehaven Rangers and Telscombe Tye.

Initially the club played local football before becoming members of the Brighton, Hove & District Football League, playing in Junior Division One for the start of the 1949–50 campaign. In their debut season the club finished as runners-up.

Moving up to the Intermediate Division, Peacehaven again ended the season in second place. Their reward was promotion to the Senior Division; where the team remained for two seasons before being demoted back to Intermediate level.

The 1963-64 season saw ‘The Tye’ win the Intermediate Division before going on to lift the Senior Division in 1968-69 without losing a single match. The title saw the club advance to Division two of the Sussex Senior League for the 1969-70 season.

The Division Two runners-up spot was secured in 1975-76, leading to Promotion to Division One. It also kick started a golden period for the Piddinghoe Avenue club.

Peacehaven & Telscombe were crowned as Sussex County League champions for the first time in 1978-79. Further league titles followed in 1981-82 before the team retained their top spot the following season.

The early nineties also ended in glory for the Tye, as further Sussex County League championships were accrued in 1991-92, 1992-93, 1994-95 and 1995-96.

League success was also mirrored in the FA Vase as Peacehaven reached the fifth round in 1992-93 before going out away to Gresley Rovers. The club got to the quarter finals of the 1995-96 competition; where Clitheroe ended any Wembley dreams in Lancashire.

Players departed following the successes, with the club being relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1997-98 campaign. Peacehaven regained their top county league place with promotion in 2000-01.

However, the team went back down to Division Two in 2002-03 and this was followed by a further demotion to Division Three in 2004-05. The club rallied and made an immediate return to Division Two in time for the 2006-07 season following a Division Three title win.

The 2008-09 campaign saw more glory heading to the club as Peacehaven & Telscombe were crowned as Division Two champions and reached the Sussex County League top division once again under manager Darren Guirey.

An eighth Sussex County League title was secured in 2012-13 thanks to financial investment at the club as Peacehaven were promoted to the Isthmian League Division One North. The Division One North title was lifted in 2013-14 as the club reached the Premier Division.

Peacehaven & Telscombe were relegated at the end of the 2014-15 season as players departed as the cash ran out following the untimely death of former chairman Brian Suckling. The slide continued as the club finished the 2015-16 season at the bottom of Division One South.

Peacehaven had been victims of their own success. Their promotions cost them deeply with required ground grading improvements and players wages crippling the club. It was time for a serious rethink before the club faced liquidation.

The club was taken over by a community group representing the clubs supporters in the summer of 2016 as the team took up their place in the Premier Division of the Southern Combination; as the Sussex County League had been re-titled.

A seventh place for the team managed by Mark Shutt, who had been appointed in May 2016, was a decent return in the 2017-18 season. The performance was backed up with tenth twelve months later, while the aborted 2019-20 campaign saw the Tye end in fifth.

Peacehaven & Telscombe will play in the Southern Combination Premier Division in the 2020-21 season.


My visits

Monday 24th July 2017

My day in East Sussex was progressing well after visits to the grounds of Seaford Town and Newhaven. The train had taken me to the coast before I took advantage of an all day Discovery ticket for £8.50 on the number 10 coastal bus.

Alighting at Mayfield Avenue I headed away from the cliffs through some streets of perfectly symmetrical semi-detached bungalows into Piddinghoe Avenue. The street ended when it reached the Peacehaven Sports Park.

The sports park was a haven for those looking to exercise with its open space as well as a pristine bowling green and football ground. The community feel was enhanced as the facilities at the ground were also home to a nursery school.

The gate was open into the tidy venue, where I had a good walk around to take full advantage of the photo opportunities on what was turning into a very pleasant early afternoon.

The near side had a small cover in front of all the clubs facilities. A low seated stand straddled the half way line on the far side. A small standing cover was across in the far corner, with the remains of a similar structure with seats opposite; both remnants of ground grading requirements during Peacehaven’s rise to the top flight of the Isthmian League.

The rest of the arena was a open flat grass and concrete standing. The playing surface was a match for the bowling green next door. Once done I retraced my steps back down to the main road, where I was witness to some real comedy and potential road rage.

Having a wait for the next bus I walked to the parade of shops at the Roderick Avenue stop. An old fella had dropped his missus off and decided to wait in the bus stop. He couldn’t work out why the driver was losing his rag when trying to pull in.

The old fella stuck his arm out and beckoned the bus to pass. After a few hoots he progressed, but only a few feet. The bus pulled in with the driver fizzing. More hooting and frustration followed before we pulled out and I was on my way to Brighton!

Peacehaven & Telescombe 1 Whitehawk 5 (Saturday 5^th December 2020) Friendly (att: c140)

Not for the first time I awoke on a free Saturday morning undecided where to head off to for my football entertainment. While I ached after finishing a six day walking marathon the evening before, I was still keen to get out and about.

Several options were on offer, many to previous unseen venues. I was wary of time beat me and ending up with slim pickings as had happened in the past. I am also keen of returning to places I’d only visited to take photos.

Then out of nowhere the near perfect solution raised its head as I saw a 1pm kick off close to one kicking off a couple of hours later. Even better on what looked a lovely bright day, was it would take me somewhere photogenic and pretty.

To get to Peacehaven in good time I needed to get a wriggle on and head to Victoria for the 10.45am train to Newhaven. This would allow me to see their friendly with near neighbours, Whitehawk before returning by bus to see the FA Vase game where I got out against Binfield.

My trains connected perfectly at Lewes to arrive on time meaning I had just a few minutes to wait before the number 12 bus heading towards Brighton arrived. Although it looked a sunny day, the temperature was cold and wind blowing hard on the East Sussex coast.

After the slight panic of seeing fans, mainly visiting Hawks gathering outside and fearing a postponement, we were soon allowed in to pay by donation. I thought a fiver was fair enough. The club announced they were serving beers on Twitter, so some immediately headed to the serving portacabin.

It was too cold for me. I went for a lap of the ground taking photos before trying to find a place with sensible social distancing. It was a tad too crowded near the entrance under the cover for me and although it was fantastic to see ‘The Tye’ attracting lots of youngsters, they were naturally unconcerned by C19.

Hawks, cheered on by an excellent following, went ahead after ten minutes when Lucas Rodrigues slotted past home keeper Harry Cracknell after being teed up by Ronald Sobowale after a sustained spell of early pressure.

I’d seen Peacehaven in action earlier in the season when they were well beaten away to Walton & Hersham in the FA Vase despite showing sparks of invention up front. The early goal on this occasion seemed to spark them into action.

On eighteen minutes they drew level when Liam Benson was played in on the left before lifting his shot over keeper James Broadbent. I was happy as it set the game up nicely, celebrating by trying to warm up with a cheeseburger and lovely strong Bovril for £4.60.

Rodrigues came close to regaining the lead for Whitehawk, whose manager Ross Standen was in charge of only his second game. Debutant Omarr Lawson dragged his shot wide as the visitors in a snazzy all clue kit with rainbow trim smelled blood.

It then started pouring down, with the freezing rain blowing across the pitch from the east as I quickly realised that a pair of gloves would have been a wise addition to my kit for the day. It really was cold up on top of the cliffs.

Hawks went 2-1 up with a goal deserving of a grander setting than a friendly match. Henry Muggeridge doggedly won the ball, feeding the jinking Lawson who weaved past defenders before setting up Sobowale to score with a beautiful curling shot into the top corner.

Rodrigues created the third goal with a long powerful run before he passed to Luke Emberson who controlled and powered his shot past Cracknell. At the interval I did my best to warm up with another walk and then hide behind a floodlight pole out of the wind.

Both sides agreed to rolling subs to get everyone into the action. This seemed a wise arrangement as teams were lacking match practice after lockdown disruptions. Sobowale was denied by Cracknell soon after the restart before the forward hit the rebound wide.

Leon Redwood then fed Rodrigues, whose effort came back off the post, as it looked like being a case of how many the Hawks would rack up. Unfortunately, I would have to find out if they did via Twitter as I had to leave with just over twenty minutes left on the clock.

As it transpired, I missed further goals from Muggeridge fifteen minutes from the end and then Rodrigues finally adding his second and Hawks fifth.

It had been very cold, but a welcome bonus to catch some action at The Sports Park, which I left with a positive impression of a welcoming community club. I headed back the few miles east for the main event of the afternoon.