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 | Towns of Warwickshire - Rugby |
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Rugby is the birthplace of Rugby football and home to the famous Rugby School which provided the event that inspired the sport.
Today Rugby has an attractive town centre with a good range of shops and a number of quality restaurants and bars.
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Places of interest
Rugby is most famous for the invention of Rugby football, which is played throughout the world. Legend has it that the game was invented by William Webb Ellis in 1823 at Rugby School, which is near the centre of Rugby. The Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum which has an exhibition on the history of the game as well as being the home to thousands of items of rugby memorabilia is a must see for the rugby enthusiast. Visitors can also watch a rugby ball being hand stitched by master craftsmen.
Rugby School is one of England's oldest and most prestigious public schools, and was the setting of Thomas Hughes's semi-autobiographical masterpiece Tom Brown's Schooldays. A substantial part of the 2004 dramatisation of the novel, starring Stephen Fry, was filmed on location at Rugby School.
Rugby Art Gallery and Museum and Caldecott Park are also places of interest to visit within the town centre.
When visiting, drop by the Rugby Visitor Centre which is located in the foyer of Rugby Art Gallery Museum & library, as it offers a comprehensive range of visitor information services.
Attractions outside of the town include Garden Organic Ryton, Stanford Hall, Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve, Draycote Water Country Park and Coombe Country Park.
Not forgetting all the buildings associated with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 such as Guy Fawkes House in nearby Dunchurch.
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History
The history of the town is that it grew on the top of a sandy ridge between Dunsmore Heath to the west and Hillmorton in the east. Both north and south of the ridge are river valleys. Early ploughs could not cope with heavy clay so settlement concentrated on lighter soils making Dunsmore Heath and the Avon Valley ideal for such an ancient settlement.
The position of Rugy has also meant it's been very much on a border of some sort. Firstly during the Roman occupation where the Fosse Way was the northern border for Roman England, and then later during the Anglo-Saxon and Viking times with the northern Danelaw pushing into the south. For further history on the town see the Rugby History site.
As well as Rugby Football the town is also the birthplace of the jet engine. In April 1937, Sir Frank Whittle built the world's first prototype jet engine at the British Thomson-Houston works in Rugby, and between 1936-41 based himself at Brownsover Hall on the outskirts of the town, where he designed and developed early prototype engines. Much of his work was also carried out at nearby Lutterworth. Holography was also invented in Rugby by the Hungarian inventor Dennis Gabor in 1947.
In the 19th century, Rugby became famous for its once hugely important railway junction which was the setting for Charles Dickens's story Mugby Junction.
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Tourist Information
The local Tourist Information Office is based at:
Rugby Visitor Centre
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum & Library
Little Elborow Street
Rugby
CV21 3BZ
Tel: 01788 533217
Fax: 01788 533212
Email: visitor.centre@rugby.gov.uk
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For further information on Rugby see:
www.enjoyrugby.info
www.rugbytourism.org.uk
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