The club was established in a meeting at the Royal Oak pub on 23 September 1885. In 1896 they were founder members of the
East Sussex League. The club finished bottom of the league in 1898–99 and again the following season. The league was expanded to two divisions in 1899, with Lewes placed in the Senior Division, going on to finish last for a third consecutive season. They later joined the
Mid-Sussex League, entering its Senior Division in 1905. The club were Senior Division runners-up in 1907–08 and again in 1909–10 before winning the league in 1910–11. and were runners-up in 1912–13. After
World War I they spent the 1919–20 season in the
Brighton, Hove & District League. In 1920 they were founder members of the
Sussex County League. The club were runners-up in
1924–25 and again in
1933–34 and
1958–59, After finishing as runners-up in
1963–64, Lewes won the Sussex County League title the
following season and moved up to Division Two of the
Athenian League. Another fourth-place finish in
2005–06 saw the club again denied the opportunity to participate in the play-offs. In
2006–07 Lewes reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 4–1 at home to
Darlington. The
following season saw them finish bottom of the Conference National, resulting in relegation back to the Conference South. In
2010–11 Lewes were relegated to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, where they played until being relegated to Division One South at the end of the
2015–16 season. They were Division One South runners-up in
2017–18, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. ==Stadium==