The club was formed in 1888 as Haywards Heath Juniors. They were renamed Haywards Heath Excelsior in 1894, before becoming simply Haywards Heath in 1895. They were founder members of the Mid-Sussex League in 1900, and were runners-up in the Senior Division in 1901–02, 1902–03, 1903–04 and 1905–06. The club dropped out of the Senior Division in 1908, but won Division Two in 1911–12. In 1919–20 Haywards Heath were Mid-Sussex League champions without losing a game. They won the title again in 1922–23 and went on to retain it for the next two season, losing only one match in each season. In 1926 the club transferred to Division One of the Brighton, Hove & District League and were champions at the first attempt.