Early years were spent playing friendly and cup matches but in 1892 the club joined the Shropshire & District League, finishing as runners-up in the first season.

In 1933 the Dabbers won the Cheshire Senior Cup after beating ICI (Alkali) at the Drill Field, Northwich in front of 8,000 fans In those early years, the club had A. N. Hornby as president.

After World War II, the Dabbers joined the newly founded Mid Cheshire League in 1948 and in 1952, the club entered the inaugural FA Youth Cup competition.

Drawn against Manchester United in the second round, the young Dabbers crashed 23–0 on a November evening at the Cliff training ground to a United youth line up including Duncan Edwards, David Pegg, Albert Scanlon and Ron Cope (who joined Nantwich in the twilight of his career).

In May 1981 a crowd of 1078 saw Nantwich clinch the Cheshire League by beating eventual runners-up Hyde United 2–1 in the penultimate game of the season.

Gleghorn left the club in the 2004 close season and former Crewe Alexandra, Burnley and Barnsley defender Steve Davis was appointed as head coach.

Davis, assisted by former Nantwich and Macclesfield striker Peter Hall, proved to be the most successful manager in the club's history.

Davis led Nantwich to FA Vase victory in 2005–06 when the Dabbers beat Hillingdon Borough 3–1 in the final at Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium.

En route to the final, Nantwich kept a clean sheet in eight out of nine ties including victories over Buxton (1–0) and Cammell Laird (5–0 in the two-legged semi-final).

To sign off the home campaign, a crowd of 1,071 saw the last game at the 123-year-old Jackson Avenue ground when Nantwich beat Squires Gate 5–2 on 28 April 2007.

They also won the Cheshire Senior Cup beating higher-ranked teams Hyde United and Northwich Victoria en route to a win in the final on penalties over Conference side Altrincham after a 3–3 draw.

In the 2009 close season Steve Davis left for the assistant manager's job at Crewe to be replaced by his long-time assistant Peter Hall (despite applications from former West Ham United defender Julian Dicks and former Port Vale players Dave Brammer and Dean Glover).

The poor form resulted in head coach Peter Hall losing his job in late March; Kevin Street and Darren Tinson took over on a caretaker basis.

The comeback sparked a revival in the Dabbers' fortunes, with one defeat in the next 10 games and the managerial duo of Street and Tinson receiving the Manager of the Month award for November.

Striker Ben Mills, signed from Stafford Rangers went on to score 12 goals for the club until his January move to Macclesfield Town.

After an impressive pre-season, and an opening day 5–0 away win over Matlock Town, hopes were high for Nantwich, but 2012-13 performances declined, and boss Jimmy Quinn was fired in February.

Johnson's second season saw little improvement, and he lost his job in February 2015, being replaced by ex-player Phil Parkinson, assisted by Neil Sorvel and Danny Griggs.

In the 1st qualifying round Nantwich beat Salford City 2–1, followed by a 5–1 defeat of Kings Lynn Town with a hat trick from Liam Shotton.

In the quarter final, Nantwich beat Conference team Dover Athletic 2–1 with another last minute goal, from Liam Shotton.

An FA cup run to the 4th qualifying round saw wins over Ashton United, Marine and Halesowen Town but Stourbridge ran out 3–1 winners at the Weaver Stadium.

They also claimed their second consecutive Cheshire Senior Cup, beating North-West Counties Football League outfit Cammell Laird 5–2 in the final.

Manager Dave Cooke also grabbed national headlines in January by bringing in former Premier League and Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller to the club.

In November 2019, Nantwich reached the First Round of the FA Cup for a third time, losing 1–0 to AFC Fylde at the Weaver Stadium.

The Whitby Morrison Ice Cream Vans Stand is a low terrace situated to the north of the pitch at the Weaver Stadium.