Littlehampton Town

Littlehampton Town FC is a non-league football club from the seaside resort of the same name, which is located in West Sussex at the head of the River Arun. The club was formed as Littlehampton FC in 1896, playing in the Junior Division of the West Sussex League.

The 'Marigolds’ became members of the Sussex County League in 1928, and a decade later they added ‘Town’ to their title. The club finished as league runners up on eight occasions up to the 1990-91 season. However that campaign saw the title won as well as Town going on a magnificent FA Cup run all the way to the First Round.

Chipstead, Dulwich Hamlet, Tooting & Mitcham United, Tonbridge, and Romsey Town were all defeated before Northampton Town travelled to the coast for the Sportsfield encounter. A crowd of 4,000 packed in as the visiting Cobblers ran out 4-0 winners. 

The League Cup was added as Littlehampton reached the last four of the FA Vase. Unfortunately, Gresley Rovers ended their dreams of a Wembley appearance. However, the good times soon waned, with Town being relegated at the end of the 1994-95 season. 

The club returned two years later, but once again they struggled, culminating in relegation and a 22-1 defeat to Horsham YMCA in 2002-03. The club bounced back at their first attempt, as well as lifting the League Cup once again.

After manager Carl Stabler and most of the team decamped to near neighbours Wick, The Marigolds went down again in 2006-07. After a few seasons of rebuilding, promotion was achieved in 2012-13 as Littlehampton lifted the Division Two title.

The Sussex County League title was secured in 2014-15 before George Gaskin took over as manager as the league was absorbed into the new Southern Combination, with the Marigolds being placed in the Premier Division of the competition.

Bennett returned in 2018 after the side suffered relegation to Division One, with Gaskin heading back onto the pitch to provide goals for the team. Despite two seasons being abandoned, Littlehampton were promoted to the Premier Division when things resumed in earnest in 2021-22.

Gaskin took on the managerial role with joint boss Mitchell Hand, as the side won the league title, with the reward, promotion to the South East Division of the Isthmian League. The team also went on a tremendous run in the FA Vase, which culminated in reaching the final at Wembley where Newport Pagnell Town ran out 3-0 winners.

3,000 locals travelled to London to cheer on the side, with awareness and interest in the club increasing. Sadly, the old stand at the Sportsfield was replaced by a new structure to satisfy ground grading requirements.

The Marigolds finished the 2022-23 season in a midtable slot in their new surroundings before a couple of campaigns towards the wrong end of the table.

Littlehampton Town FC will play in the Isthmian League South East Division in the 2025-26 season.

My visits

Friday 30^th November 2007

Littlehampton was the final call on a very enjoyable day out by the sea. I had travelled down to Brighton for the day and then gone by train to several grounds. After initially getting lost, which takes some doing in a relatively small ground, I eventually found myself outside the Sportsman; the grounds clubhouse.

The gate was locked, but after walking along Berry Lane behind the stands, I found an open gate so I could go inside for a look and to take some photos. The football pitch was on the south side of the complex. A rail on the far side separated it from the cricket and croquet grounds. 

A hard-standing path ran round the pitch where it didn't infringe on the other grounds. The far end had the cricket scoreboard just behind the goal, with The Sportsman clubhouse just beyond. The near side had a delightful wooden seated stand with a couple of covered standing areas on either side. It was all very neat and tidy.

I had considered trying to fit in a ride down to Bognor Regis to complete the day, but common sense and the fading light prevailed. Instead, I relaxed and had a nod on the direct train back to London, after another very satisfying and educational day out.

Littlehampton Town 3 St Francis Rangers 1 (Sunday 18^th August 2013) FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round (Att: 180)

As I had a day off work and no cricket to umpire, I pre-booked my train tickets and headed to the seaside. The weather forecast was promising, and I was in good form. The journey was smooth, but as the train ran along the coast, the rain began to fall. 

I nearly got out at the station before my destination, so I could have a good walk, but I soon jumped back on board. However, the weather Gods were on my side; it was rather pleasant as we arrived in Littlehampton. The sun shone on the River Arun as I walked down to the promenade. 

It was all rather nice to be honest. I even had a little paddle, although the amount of pebbles made it a bit uncomfortable. Instead, I went for a good walk that took me alongside Norfolk Gardens, where people were playing pitch and putt and having a ride on the miniature railway. 

The pretty Mewsbrook Park was set up for some kind of event as I wandered through, before heading back to town in search of sustenance. My timing was impeccable on entering The Crown. I was the last to get to pay £5.99 and go upstairs for a carvery. 

Donna behind the counter apologised as the gammon and beef joints were nearly all gone. She needn’t have bothered as I got all the big bits. It was beautiful and excellent value. Full to bursting, it was time to head to the ground, where I paid £6 admission and a further quid for the decent programme, before heading upstairs into The Sportsman bar. 

Several groundhoppers from around the country were gathered, many of whom were from the excellent Non League Matters (AKA Kempster) Forum. I was watching the Crystal Palace v Tottenham league opener, drinking some well-kept Doombar, when Andy came over to introduce himself. 

He was resplendent in his Reading shirt, but he originated from Norway. He came over whenever he could for a week at a time to see matches and enjoy socialising each day, after getting bored with big time football. I also chatted to Paul White, whose excellent journal recounts his amazing 172 games that he attended the season before. 

I even chatted to a fella from Portsmouth wearing a shirt of his favourite foreign club, Alemannia Aachen! We went downstairs and stood down the cricket field side, where we got chatting to a local who told me that the cricket square is being moved further north to allow for a stand on that side, so Littlehampton could try and go for promotion. 

The whole playing field was in better condition than many wickets I'd batted on and was a real credit to the groundsman. The Sportsfield hadn't changed structurally since my previous visit. People were playing croquet over on the far side. The vista was one of serenity and a glorious Sunday afternoon. The gentility was soon about to be broken.

The game had begun, and it was nasty, and indeed vicious at times, as both teams looked to intimidate each other with tackles that made the crowd wince, were flying in at regular intervals. The language was abysmal, yet the referee let most of it go.

Particularly evil was the battle between the home centre forward and his marker. How they both stayed on the pitch, especially the Littlehampton man, remained a mystery to most in attendance. St Francis took the lead after thirty-four minutes when Jamie Weston pounced on a rebound. 

His side from Haywards Heath were wearing their second colours of green and white stripes.
I’d done a lap of the ground and went upstairs for a half-time pint. Many were shaking their heads at what they had witnessed. It was like the games I’d witnessed years ago in local Sunday Leagues as players worked off their hangovers by kicking anything that moved.

I returned to stand with my local pal for the second period. Fortunately things had calmed down. Once the home teams major protagonist was substituted most of the violence abated although his opponent scored a faultless ten out of ten in whining. 

The ref had been lucky. By his poor management in the first twenty minutes, he could well have had an abandonment on his hands. The Marigolds levelled when Scott Packer was put through on fifty-four minutes. Nine minutes later, they were ahead as a free kick from David O’Callaghan eluded everyone and rolled in off the far post. 

St Francis had had the stuffing knocked out of them. Littlehampton still used their physique with the wind behind them, and it proved too much for their visitors. Jason Jarvis rounded things off with nine minutes remaining when he slotted home after beating the offside trap.

I returned upstairs and met Luke, the man known on the forum as Sussex Hopper, who had remarkably travelled to watch a game at New Mills from his Worthing home the day before. He was wearing a Goole AFC polo shirt from a previous trip. We quickly agreed on the lack of aesthetics belonging to that particular town!

Andy and I wandered back into town after another pint to finish off in The George, a fine Wetherspoon’s house. It was time for our train. My Norwegian pal was staying in Bognor Regis overnight before heading to his game at Ilkeston the following day using his Britrail Pass. 

We parted ways when I got off in Ford, but rather than catching the service for Victoria, I was still in the mood for fun. I caught the train to Brighton to call in at The Evening Star to sample their fine Hophead. A Japanese tourist was having half off all the pumps, including the cider. I did my bit and introduced him to pork scratchings. 

He must have had a belly like a cement mixer the following morning, but he was smiling away as he took photos of each of the pump clips! I was feeling ropey the next day, so goodness knows what condition he would have been in when he woke.

I eventually got home to see Europe's ladies win the Solheim Cup on TV. It was a nice end to a top day. There's something really special that gets people from all over the country, and indeed the world, together to share laughs and stories.