Lancing FC was founded in 1941 as an all-sports club and known as Lancing Athletic. The cricket and badminton sections survive to this day but the footballers were obliged to form an independent organisation upon their election to the Sussex County League in 1948 - but they were still known as Lancing Athletic FC for some years, the suffix drifting out of use around 1955.

An application to join the Sussex County Football League for the 1947/48 season was rejected but Lancing were allowed to enter the FA Amateur Cup and consequently stunned the local football world by reaching the Fourth Qualifying Round, beating four established County League clubs before eventually losing 2-1 at home to Tooting & Mitcham United.

When Worthing moved to the Corinthian League in the summer of 1948 Lancing were their only possible replacements in the County League. In their second season they were runners-up to Haywards Heath on goal average. In 1952 the club moved from their local park at the Crowshaw Recreation Ground to their present home at Culver Road. In their second match there, an FA Cup tie against Eastbourne (now Eastbourne Town), saw Lancing draw 6-6 after trailing 6-1 after just thirty minutes - and they won the replay!

Fortunes however were mixed and relegation came in 1957 followed a year later by promotion. In 1965 Lancing were again County League runners-up behind an unbeaten Lewes side which subsequently joined the Athenian League. Lancing were expected to succeed them as Champions in 1966 but had to settle for a record Amateur Cup run and victory in the Sussex RUR Cup.

Lancing were relegated in 1968, promoted two years later and then relegated again in 1972. Then came many years in the doldrums and only in the 1980s did their fortunes change. The Sussex County FA bought Culver Road, and erected floodlights and a new clubhouse.

Lancing, now their tenants, won the Division Two Cup and a year later won promotion, the first time that they had finished in the top half of Division Two since they dropped back into it. The following season saw their Division One status retained after a struggle, only to be relegated again in 1990. The club remained in Division Two throughout the 1990s with the only success coming in the 1992/93 campaign which saw the club narrowly pipped to the third promotion spot by East Grinstead but despite this disappointment they went on to win the Division Two League Challenge Cup with a 1-0 victory over Mile Oak. They also reached the final of the Sussex RUR Cup, losing to eventual County League champions, Peacehaven & Telscombe.

1999/00 saw Lancing promoted to Division One once more, after finishing fourth but then being awarded three points which took them above third-placed Crawley Down, who were unable to be promoted in any case. Despite the end of season drama, the club’s stay back in the top division was short-lived and they were relegated back to Division Two after just one season.

2003/04 saw the club finish in one of the two relegation places after a terrible second half to the season. However, the demise of St. Leonards in Division One and resignation of Franklands Village from Division Three, spared Lancing a drop into intermediate football as the SCFL balanced the numbers in the three divisions. For the past. Following a couple of mid-table finishes, 2006/07 saw Lancing flirt with relegation once more before finishing in 14th place.

Description of ground
Lancing FC moved to Culver Road from the adjacent Crowshaw Recreation Ground in 1952, and within a year the imposing 350-seat (bench) grand stand was complete. It was obviously costly and the club announced that if gates dropped below 600 they would be doomed!

Sadly the stand, with its wooden interior, is in a pretty poor state and by the end of the 2006/07 only a very small part of it was actually open to spectators. This is something of a tragedy since it remains one of the most impressive structures in Sussex football. There has always been a bit of an impeded view but to make matters worse, when the Sussex County FA purchased the ground in 1981, they built their new single storey HQ in such a position as to block almost all of the left-hand touchline!

However, it would be wrong to chastise the Sussex FA too much, as they did make improvements to the ground: adding floodlights, and also new dressing rooms next to the stand, replacing those which previously existed with the building’s cavernous interior. Further along the touchline from the dressing rooms is a small clubhouse.

The dugouts, which once stood in front of the stand, are now situated on the opposite side of the pitch, where there is also a shallow grass bank that affords a slightly elevated view. Protective netting is provided behind each of the goals. There is a car park to the rear of the stand, but it does fill up for cup finals and representative games.

The future of the 55 year old stand has been the subject of discussion for some time. At the end of 2003 ‘Groundtastic’ magazine reported plans to erect a new seated stand in front of the existing structure but this came to nothing. However, in April 2007 the Sussex FA announced plans for a £1.35 million redevelopment of the Culver Road site including, inevitably, the demolition of the stand - a move described by 'Groundtastic' as a "mercy killing". Included in the demolition are the dressing rooms  meaning that the club will be forced to play elsewhere during the redevelopment period.

Demolition work began on Friday 10 August 2007 with the removal of asbestos from the roof and by Wednesday of the following week work was well underway, as can be seen from the photograph above. The stated aim was for a £500,000 replacement to be in place by October 2007 but with a 30 week build being planned for it looks as though Lancing will lead something of a nomadic existance for most if not all of 2007/08.

Directions
Follow the A27 to Manor roundabout, and take first exit into Grinstead Lane (A2025). Turn right into Crabtree Lane and then 1st left into North Road. Culver Road (cul-de-sac) is a tuning on the right just past the shops, and before you reach the railway station.

Nearest railway station: Lancing (5 min walk).

Map (link to www.streetmap.co.uk)