A move to Hanbury Park in 1952 allowed Haywards Heath to join the Metropolitan League, but after several seasons of struggling in the new league, they finished bottom of the table in 1960–61 and rejoined the Sussex County League. The club won the Division One title in 1969–70, the League Cup in 1972–73, and were runners-up in 1974–75, but were relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1979–80 season, which had seen them finish second-from-bottom in Division One. They won the Division Two Cup in 1983–84, beating Wigmore Athletic 4–2 in a replay. The club were Division Two runners-up in 1985–86, earning promotion back to Division One.