The club was founded in 1907 as
Leatherhead Rose, and originally played friendlies. In 1909 they joined the Dorking and District League, and won the league at the first attempt. The team played in the Delphian League for seven seasons before joining the
Corinthian League. In the 1962–63 season they became the last Corinthian League champions, as the league was disbanded. Along with most of the other sides, they joined the enlarged
Athenian League in the new Division One. At the end of their first season in Division One they were promoted to the Premier Division as Champions. The hero of this era was "Nobby" Skinner, noted for his ability to "poach" a goal out of nothing. In the
Fourth round they were drawn at home to
First Division Leicester City. It remains the furthest the club has ever reached in the competition. At the height of the team's success, Kelly appeared on national television, including
Match of the Day,
Nationwide and ''
Tomorrow's World''. In 1978, the side reached the final of the
FA Trophy, played at
Wembley, only to lose 3–1 to
Altrincham.
1980s and beyond The Tanners also reached the FA Cup first round in 1980 but lost 5–1 to
Exeter City. In 2011, Leatherhead gained promotion, beating Dulwich Hamlet in a dramatic play-off final. The Tanners were 3–1 down going into injury time when Kevin Terry managed to pull two goals back, taking the game to extra time. Terry scored again in extra time to claim his hat-trick and take the Tanners into the
Isthmian League Premier Division. In the 2013–14 season, Leatherhead were promoted after winning the play-off final against Folkestone Invicta.
Jimmy Bullard managed Leatherhead in the 2016–17 season. In the
2017–18 season Leatherhead reached the second round of the FA Cup, under
Sammy Moore, but lost 3–1 away to
Wycombe Wanderers. Leatherhead also reached the final of the Surrey Senior Cup and finished 6th in the Isthmian League Premier Division, missing the play-offs on goal difference.
Nikki Bull took over as manager at the start of the 2018–19 season. The 2019-20 and 2020–21 seasons were unfinished due to COVID-19. In August 2021, Martin McCarthy took over as manager from Bull, who stayed with the club to focus on player recruitment. The U23 side moved to the Suburban League and Leatherhead Women FC started playing on Sundays at Fetcham Grove in the South East Counties Women's League.
Club operations Financial problems emerged at Fetcham Grove just before Christmas 1999. The club survived that immediate crisis but it seemed that they were doomed in the summer of 2000 when a last-ditch appeal to the local business community for sponsorship failed. It was then that the supporters of the Tanners stepped in to save their club. A group of fans secured a new long-term lease on Fetcham Grove, helping to secure the Tanners' future, under the motto "a club run by its supporters for the benefit of the community". Tim Edwards (1954–2009) was a leading figure in that group and went on to become club chairman, having previously served as the club's youngest ever committee member, at age 25, and then as press secretary, programme editor and photographer. ==Stadium==