Online House Hunter: Rugby – a Dickens of a town

Rugby's famous clocktower in the town centre

CHARLES Dickens was not a great fan of Rugby – the town that is, not the game. His experience at the major railway junction was not a happy one and he took his revenge in the short tale, Mugby Junction. Hopefully he would be suitably impressed today following a major refurbishment.

Local legend has it that Rugby only won the railway because the neighbouring village of Dunchurch refused to have it. Dunchurch – famous in coaching days – now remains a beautiful village with its thatched cottages and village green while Rugby turned into the major Midlands town. While many folk are happy to live in Rugby, it has village and hamlets a-plenty close by for those who prefer the quieter life.

This happy mix of town and country life in part explains Rugby’s popularity. It is also just under an hour’s commute from Mugby station – sorry, Rugby station – to London. The likes of Birmingham and Coventry are also close by and motorways such as the M1 and M6 offer easy road links to other parts of England.

Rugby School – where William Webb Ellis with a “fine disregard for the rules of football” first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, sits in the middle of the town. Its modern shopping centre has sparked a smartening-up of other dreary quarters while leaving much of the historic centre alone. Some of that history is the terraced Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing to be found close to the rail station and at prices which make them suitable for first-time buyers. There are countless estates around the town which are communities in their own right and are ideal for those with young families. A newly-completed bypass makes travelling around the town easier but it’s an ‘escape’ to the villages which appeal to many. Old Bilton, Hillmorton (with its canal), Dunchurch and Pailton are just some of the pretty places close by.

Although rugby is rightly the major sport for this town, there is also a football team here. And close by is Coventry FC – in much need of support at the moment.

House prices in Rugby in the last quarter rose by 4.9 per cent, sharing the boost experienced by north Warwickshire, and the average house price for the town now stands at £188,492. Council tax bands for 2012/13 will be set by the council on February 23 but last year’s charges are on the council website.

Dickens may have been deterred by his experiences at the station but take time to study closer this proud town and you’ll discover something you love – and probably your new home.

USEFUL LINKS:

• Independent property search engine
• Independent House & Home section
• Homes for sale in Rugby
• Homes for sale in Bilton
• Homes for sale in Dunchurch
• Homes for sale in Hillmorton
• Homes for sale in Pailton
• BBC House Prices: Rugby
• Council tax bands for 2011/12
• Charles Dickens 2012

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