Rugby, Warwickshire

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	Rugby
Shire county	Warwickshire
Region	West Midlands
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	Rugby
List of places UK England Warwickshire 52°22′N 1°16′W / 52.37°N 1.26°W / 52.37; -1.26

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.