| Rugby | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Clockwise, from top: Rugby market place & Clock Tower, looking west from Church Street; Rugby School Chapel; Rugby Art Gallery, Museum & Library; St Andrew's Church; and William Webb Ellis statue | |
  Rugby Location within Warwickshire | |
| Population | 78,117 (2021 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 |
| UK Parliament | |
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Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. At the 2021 census, its population was 78,117,[1] making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby, which had a population of 114,400 in 2021.[2]
Rugby is situated on the eastern edge of Warwickshire, near to the borders with Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. It is the most easterly town within the West Midlands region, with the nearby county borders also marking the regional boundary with the East Midlands. It is 83 miles (134 km) north of London, 30 miles (48 km) east-south-east of Birmingham, 11.5 miles (18.5 km) east of Coventry, 18 miles (29 km) north-west of Northampton and 19 miles (31 km) south-south-west of Leicester.
Rugby became a market town in 1255. In 1567, Rugby School was founded as a grammar school for local boys but, by the 18th century, it had gained a national reputation and eventually became a public school. The school is the birthplace of rugby football which, according to legend, was invented in 1823 by a Rugby schoolboy named William Webb Ellis.[3] Rugby remained a small and fairly unimportant town until the mid-19th century, when a major railway junction was established there, which spurred the development of industry and the rapid growth of population.
- ^ "Rugby (Warwickshire)". Rugby on City Population. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "How the population changed in Rugby: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Six ways the town of Rugby helped change the world". BBC News. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2019.