Many an item has been lost in the Rook Inn cellar. Many a fan wishes they could be lost in the Rook Inn cellar. But a magnificent 123-year-old silver trophy that was discovered lurking at the back of the cellar after a clearout has been repaired and returned to its rightful owners by the Lewes FC Supporters Club.
The Newhaven Charity Cup
The trophy in question is the Newhaven Charity Cup, which as the inscription on the trophy states, was first presented by Mary Bull in 1902.
The winners’ shields on the trophy’s base were last updated in the early 1980s, meaning it was hard to find anyone who knew anything about the trophy or why it ended up in our cellar. Club President Terry Parris had faint memories of competing for the trophy during his playing days, but detail was very scarce indeed. However, Supporters Club volunteers have managed to dig up more information on the trophy and its origins.
A December 1902 newspaper report from (of all places) The Croydon Observer shines a light on the cup’s origins. The report reveals how a “good muster of the members of the Newhaven and Cement Works Football Club” gathered for a “smoking concert” in which the cup was indeed presented by Miss Mary Bull. Mary Bull was the daughter of a Mr J Bull, who it seems was on the committee of the Newhaven club.
Described as “the handsomest cup in Sussex, with the exception of about two”, the trophy was to be the prize for a new competition to be contested by Lewes, Seaford and Newhaven, which had been sanctioned by the FA. In a somewhat uneven contest, Lewes were to face Seaford in a play-off, the winners of which would face Newhaven in the final.
The first final
Reports gleaned from The Sussex Express show that the Rooks beat Seaford 2-1 to earn their place in the first final. “Waghorn was a perfect marvel in [the Lewes} goal,” the report states, “and when the Seasiders did get within range he was always at home, saving some really splendid attempts from the Seaford front string”. Goals from Page and Broadbent put the Rooks through in the end.
However, the Rooks didn’t fare so well in the final, losing 3-1 to Newhaven, according to a very brief report in the West Sussex County Times.
The expanded competition
Over the years, it seems the competition expanded well beyond the original three teams who competed for the cup in 1903. A 1936 report in Sussex Express states efforts were being made to increase the number of competing teams from four to eight, and subsequent match reports from games in the competition include Eastbourne and Peacehaven, as well as (appropriately for Newhaven’s dockside location) teams of sailors. HMS Excellent’s name appears on the trophy several times.
The last reported game in the competition we can find is a 1997 article from the Sussex Express, which states that Lewes were due to visit Newhaven to compete for the trophy on Saturday August 2nd. Perhaps they won that game, and that’s how that wonderful old cup ended up back at The Dripping Pan.
Restored to its rightful home
Supporters Club volunteer Terry Morton is the man responsible for returning the trophy. He took a shine to the cup when it was discovered in a rather disheveled state in the Rook Inn and took it to a local repair firm Sussex Silversmiths, who mended the trophy and gave it a good polish at a very generous rate.
Last night, before Newhaven’s game with Varndeanians, Terry handed the trophy back to Newhaven chairman Martin Garry, who immediately returned it to the club’s overflowing trophy cabinet.
Who knows? Perhaps the two teams (or more) will be able to compete for the historic old trophy again some time in the future.