Rugby, Warwickshire
| Rugby | |
|---|---|
 Rugby Market Place, looking west from Church Street |
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 Rugby
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| Rugby shown within Warwickshire | |
| Population | 70,628 (2011 Census) |
| Demonym | Rugbeian |
| OS grid reference | SP5075 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | RUGBY |
| Postcode district | CV21, CV22, CV23 |
| Dialling code | 01788 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. The town has a population of 70,628 (2011 census) making it the second largest town in the county. The enclosing Borough of Rugby has a population of 100,500 (2011 census).
Rugby is 13 miles (21 km) east of Coventry, on the eastern edge of Warwickshire, near the borders with Northamptonshire and Leicestershire.
The town is credited with being the birthplace of rugby football.
Early Iron age settlement existed in the Rugby area, and a few miles outside what is now Rugby, existed a Roman settlement known as Tripontium. Rugby was originally a small Anglo-Saxon farming settlement, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Rocheberie. Rugby obtained a charter to hold a market in 1255, and soon developed into a small country market town.
Rugby School was founded in 1567 with money left in the will of Lawrence Sheriff, a locally born grocer, who moved to London and earned his fortune. Rugby School was originally intended as a school for local boys, but over time became a mostly fee-paying private school. The Lawrence Sheriff School was eventually founded in the late 19th century to carry on Sheriff's original intentions.
Rugby remained a sleepy country market town until the 19th century and the coming of the railways. In 1838 the London and Birmingham Railway was constructed past it, and in 1840 the Midland Counties Railway made a junction with the London and Birmingham at Rugby. Rugby became an important railway junction, and the proliferation of rail yards and workshops attracted workers. Rugby's population grew from just 2,500 in 1835, to over 10,000 by the 1880s.
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