Downham Town Football Club, nicknamed “The Saints,” is one of the oldest football clubs in Norfolk, having been formed in 1881. Until 1952, the team was picked by a committee.
Originally, the club played junior football in the King’s Lynn area before taking up senior status by being elected into the Premier Division of the Peterborough League in the 1949/50 season.
After winning the Peterborough League title in 1987/88, the club moved to the newly formed Jewson Eastern Counties League Division One, which later became the Thurlow Nunn League.
The team played in Division One North until winning promotion to the Premier Division by way of the play-offs in the 2022/23 season.
In the 2023/24 season, the team won the Norfolk Senior Cup for the first time in almost 60 years. Then, in 2024/25, the team once again secured promotion via the play-offs. 2025/26 the team played Step 4 in the Pitching In Isthmian League North being relegated back to the Thurlow Nunn Premier League.
Town won the Peterborough Premier League title in 1962/63, 1973/74 (The provided text has a typo, it should be 1973/74), 1986/87, and 1987/88 (The provided text has a typo, it should be 1987/88) and the Peterborough Senior Cup in 1961/62, 1962/63, 1966/67, 1971/72, and 1986/87. The club also won the Norfolk Senior Cup in 1963/64 and 1965/66.
Downham’s record win, as far as is known, was a 15-0 victory against Bury Town Reserves in the 1993/94 season. This was a Jewson League record.
The record defeat, also as far as is known, was in 1992 when an Arsenal XI came to town to celebrate the switching on of the new floodlights. Arsenal won 14-1.
Rocky Lewis and Matty Calvert have both played over 500 times for the Town.
This timeline was compiled with the help of several long-serving past and present members of the football club. It is as accurate as they could agree on since no official records are available.
Percy Hooper 1952–53: Ex-Tottenham Hotspur Goalkeeper
George Heagren 1953–1969
Tony Chilleystone 1969–1972
Colin Dye 1973–1976
Glen Andrews 1976–1977
John Button 1977–1980
Dominic McCullum 1980–1981
Rocky Lewis 1981–1989: Rocky Lewis had played in goal for the Town for 12 seasons, missing just 3 games. He was in charge when the team won the Peterborough Premier League to gain promotion to the Eastern Counties League Division One.
Pete Bush 1989–1991: Pete had been Rocky’s assistant for a few years before taking on the role.
Freddie Easthall and Steve Bunting 1991–1993
Rocky Lewis 1993: A very short time in temporary charge.
David Batch 1993–1995: At the time of David’s appointment, he was the youngest-ever manager in senior football, aged 21.
Steve Tyers 1995–2002
Gary McGinn and Andrew Knott 2002–2003: Gary and Andrew had been Steve’s assistants and they took charge for the end of the 2001/02 season and the beginning of 2002/03.
Steve Lilley 2002–2003: Steve stepped into the manager’s shoes early during the 2002/03 season until the end of the season.
Robin Sainty 2003–2006
Jerry Rose, Ian Leaver, and Neil Brown 2006–2007: These three ex-players took charge after being challenged to do so at a “drunken barbecue.”
Ian Leaver 2007–2008: Ian took sole charge for this season.
Wayne Anderson 2008–2010
Garth Good 2010–2012
Pete Brassent 2012
Mark Reeve 2012–2014
Bob Warby 2014–2016
Pawel Guziejko 2016–2017
Paul Neary 2017–2018
Dale Stokes 2024-2026 who left with 7 matches of the season remaining to take up a coaching role in America.
Craig Dickson 2026 to current date.
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