One From The Archieve - Lewes vs. Havant And Waterlooville

For this weeks one from the archive I've chosen one of the most scenic and varied grounds I've visited. It also has a brilliant name - The Dripping Pan. Located just over 50 miles south of London and in the middle of The South Downs the town of Lewes is worth a visit itself. A short walk from the station is the high street which has many thriving independent shops which makes it different from so many other high streets. Also even closer to the station is the Harvey and Sons Brewery. There are tours of the brewery but it is essential to book in advance.

Elevated view of the action towards the terracing behind one of the goals.

As I said in the opening paragraph, the ground is varied in terms of accommodation of supporters. At either end of the ground there is terracing but only at 'the clubhouse' end if there covered standing. One one side of the pitch there is the only seating in the ground and the other side is a grass bank with railing at the top! The website states that the ground at one point may have been a quarry of some description and this would go some way to explaining the layout of the ground.

The grass bank side of the ground.

At the time Lewes were struggling in the relegation zone of the Blue Square South. In their previous home game they had let a three goal lead slip at home to relegation rivals Worcester City. This game was billed as a must win in the programme but unfortunately Lewes failed to deliver.

The only seating at The Dripping Pan.

Lewes performed OK in the first half and a few decent efforts on goal. Then in the second half Havant and Waterlooville took over. The first goal was a cracker, a bicycle kick from just inside the box. This was followed by a bullet header from a corner and unfortunately for the battling hosts, a defensive mix gifted the visitors a third.  

The Home / Clubhouse end.

Lewes went on to avoid relegation on the final day of the season. The clubhouse is quite small but does has some hand pulled ales from the brewery. The programme was quite disappointing, but the articles it did contain were quite interesting. The station is less than five minutes walk from the station and trains depart from London Victoria every 30 minutes and takes just over an hour. As with East Preston it is defiantly worth getting to Lewes early to take in everything the town has to offer.

Match action from the home end.