Early years The club was founded in 1893 as Rock-a-Nore and played their home games on the East Hill in
Hastings Old Town. They played in local cup competitions winning the Hastings FA run Carlisle Cup on two occasions before becoming inactive between 1899 and 1901, however the club made a return to enjoy more success the local competitions. before returning to the East Hill the following season. They won the East Sussex League in the
1907–08 season, however by the years leading up to the
First World War, the club were back playing in the local junior leagues.
Hastings & St Leonards After the First World War, Rock-a-Nore became founder members of the
Sussex County League and moved to the Pilot Field in 1920, after one season in the league they changed name to Hastings & St Leonards FC, to reflect becoming the most prominent team in the town. A merger with local side All Saints was proposed, but the move never went through as All Saints did not want to lose their identity, though several players went on to join Hastings. Not long after the name change, a local team called Old Town United changed their name to Rock-a-Nore, taking on the former identity of the club. Hastings & St Leonards, often shortened to Hastings, spent seven seasons in the Sussex County League, finishing runners on two occasions before leaving to join the
Southern Amateur League in 1927. The team would win Division Two in their first season and were promoted into Division One for the
1928–29 season, where they remained until the outbreak of World War Two. During the 1930s the club enjoyed a highly successful spell, winning the league in
1934–35,
1935–36,
1936–37 and
1938–39, the Sussex Senior Cup in
1935–36 and
1937–38 and the
Amateur Football Alliance Senior Cup in
1937–38. The club returned for the
1949–50 season, playing in the Hastings League and joined the East Sussex League for the
1950–51 season.
Hastings Town and the Southern League In 1976, the club changed name to Hastings Town and part of the late 1970s was spent playing at Bulverhythe, home to Hastings Rangers, whilst the clubhouse and pitch at the Firs was being upgraded. The club won Division Two in
1979–80, winning promotion to Division One where they played until 1985. Hastings Town applied for membership to the
Southern League Premier Division following the folding of Hastings United, but were admitted to the Southern Division following objections from another club. The club negotiated a long-term lease with Hastings Borough Council for the use the Pilot Field and several of old Hastings United players joined the club. The club's ambition was the win promotion to the Premier Division of the Southern League, but would go onto play several frustrating seasons of top-half finishes.
Peter Sillett took charge of the club and built up a side that eventually won promotion, winning the league in
1991–92. The 1990s saw the club enjoy more success winning the Southern League Cup in
1995, beating
Leek Town on aggregate and winning the Sussex Senior Cup twice in
1996 and
1998, beating
Crawley Town and
Burgess Hill Town respectively. Local lottery winner Mark Gardiner, previously involved at local rivals
St Leonards Stamcroft, became involved ahead of the
1997–98 season and made a generous playing budget available to manager
Garry Wilson. Even with the healthy budget available, the club found themselves in the bottom half of the table despite the signing of former football league players including
Mark Morris and the goal scoring exploits of
Stafford Browne. Wilson was sacked after a
FA Trophy loss to
Bath City and
Dean White and Terry White were brought in as joint managers. Despite a fifth-place finish in the
1998–99 season, the second highest finish in the football league pyramid for the club, there was trouble off the pitch. With Mark Gardiner no longer involved, the club was in administration and also faced the possibility of playing in the Sussex County League, after applying to join the
Isthmian League, later changing their mind, but the Southern League had refused their attempt to withdraw their resignation from the League. A consortium led by another local lottery winner Mick Maplesden saved the club from folding and the club were allowed back into the Southern League, but into the Eastern Division. The club finished in the top five for the following two seasons before eventually winning promotion back into the Premier Division after winning the league in
2001–02. having to build a squad that eventually escaped relegation to the county league. However Southall's stay was short as he resigned during the 2005–06 season following disagreements with the chairman, seemingly starting the trend of short lived managerial stays for the following seasons. with the latter stepping down but later returning as goalkeeping coach. For the
2006–07 season, Kane's brother Norman was introduced as assistant manager, but the club seemed destined for another relegation battle, however a turn in form saw the club go on a remarkable run from November, finishing in the play-off places at fifth place. The side went onto beat
Dover Athletic in the semi-finals and
Tooting and Mitcham United in the final to win promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. Dolby built a strong side for the
2009–10 season and led the club to a seventh-place finish, just outside the play-off places, but after a disappointing run in the
2010–11 season, Dolby departed once more and Jason Hopkinson was brought in as his replacement. Hopkinson's stay at the club was disappointing and short-lived after he departed in November 2011 and replaced by Sean Ray. Despite the remarkable cup run, the club's league form left them languishing near the relegation places and the club were eventually relegated after a three-and-a-half month winless streak. Ray departed shortly before the
2013–14 season and John Maggs was appointed in September 2013. Maggs only lasted five months and was replaced by Terry White, who took the club the play-offs, losing to Folkestone Invicta in the semi-final. White resigned in October 2014 and was replaced by Dominic di Paolo, who himself only lasted until News Years Day and was replaced by Nigel Kane. A new board was quickly appointed and Garry Wilson was appointed manager for
2015–16, the club had ambitions to challenge for promotion, however the team ended up in a disappointing seventh place and Wilson resigned.
Darren Hare signed a two-year deal to become manager from
2016–17 with
Steven Watt as his assistant. Players with Football League experience such as
Lenny Pidgeley,
Matt Bodkin and
Frannie Collin, who scored a record equalling 32 goals, joined the club. After a fifth-place finish in the league, the club lost in the play-off semi-finals to
Dorking Wanderers and Hare departed as manager shortly after. Former
Brighton & Hove Albion player
Adam Hinshelwood took over as manager, also signing a two-year deal, who alongside his assistant Chris Agutter, would work full-time at the club, also overseeing the academy setup. By now the club were investing a lot more time and resources into the academy side and development squad, with a view to bringing more young local players into the senior side. Hinshelwood left his role in September 2017 and was taken over by Agutter. In 2019, club owners Daren Burney and Peter Sherlock appointed music agent Billy Wood as chief executive officer with David Nessling, Tony Cosens and David Ormerod departing the club by resignation. With the club under a new wave of momentum attendances rose to consistent levels not witnessed in decades with Chris Agutter's team closing in on the Isthmian South East League championship before COVID-19 sent the league into lockdown and eventually the league was terminated, null and voiding 2019/20. The
2021–22 season saw Hastings claim the league title and secure promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. ==Club identity==