Editing Rugby, Warwickshire (section)

===Medieval===
[[File:St Andrew's Church west tower 3.23.jpg|thumb|upright|The west tower of St Andrew's Church, dating from the 13th or 14th century]]
The small settlement at Rugby was taken over by the [[Anglo-Saxons]] around 560&nbsp;AD, and it was mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Rocheberie''; there are several theories about the origin of the name; one is that it is derived from an old [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] name ''droche-brig'' meaning 'wild hilltop'.<ref name="Pernell">{{cite book |last1=Pernell |first1=Sarah |title=Rugby |date=2006 |isbn=1-85937-620-7}}</ref> Another theory is that ''Rocheberie'' was a phonetic translation of the [[Old English]] name ''Hrocaberg'' meaning 'Hroca's hill fortification'; ''Hroca'' being an Anglo-Saxon man's name pronounced with a silent 'H', and ''berg'' being a name for a hill fortification, with the 'g' being pronounced as an 'ee' sound. The first part of the name may also be Old English ''hrōc'' (> "rook"). By the 13th century the name of the town was commonly spelt as ''Rokeby'' (or ''Rookby'') before gradually evolving into the modern form by the 18th century.<ref name="RGOAT">{{cite book |last1=Osbourne |first1=Andy |first2=Eddy |last2=Rawlins|title=Rugby: Growth of a Town |date=1988}}</ref><ref name="Unott">{{cite web |title=Key to English place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Warwickshire/Rugby |website=University of Nottingham |access-date=19 December 2024}}</ref>

In 1140, the first recorded mention was made of [[St Andrew's Church, Rugby|St Andrew's Church]], which was originally a [[chapel of ease]] to the mother church at [[Clifton-upon-Dunsmore]], until Rugby was established as a [[Parish (Church of England)|parish]] in its own right in 1221, at which point it was elevated to the status of [[parish church]]. In 1255, the [[lord of the manor]] Henry de Rokeby obtained a charter to hold a weekly [[Marketplace|market]] in Rugby, which soon developed into a small country [[market town]].<ref name="Rughistim">{{cite web|title=Rugby history timeline|url=https://www.rugby-local-history.org/timeline/|publisher=Rugby Local History Research Group|access-date=30 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920204515/http://www.rugby-local-history.org/index.php/history?id=114|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 12th century, Rugby was mentioned as having a [[castle]] at the location of what is now Regent Place. However, the nature of the 'castle' is unknown, and it was possibly little more than a fortified [[manor house]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Site of a Possible Medieval Manor House or Castle at Regent Place |url=https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/site-of-a-possible-medieval-manor-house-or-castle-at-regent-place |publisher=Our Warwickshire |access-date=27 December 2021}}</ref> In any event, the 'castle' may have been short lived: It has been speculated that it was constructed early in the reign of [[Stephen of England|King Stephen]] (1135–1154) during the period of civil war known as [[The Anarchy]], and then, as a so-called [[adulterine castle]], built without Royal approval, demolished in around 1157 on the orders of King [[Henry II of England|Henry II]]. The earthworks for the castle were still clearly visible as late as the 19th century, but have since been built over. According to one theory, the stones from the castle were later used to construct the west tower of St Andrew's Church, which bears strong resemblance to a castle, and was probably intended for use in a defensive as well as a religious role.<ref name="RGOAT"/><ref name="Wait1">{{cite web |last1=Wait |first1=Rev W.&nbsp;O. |title=Rugby:past and present, with an historical account of neighbouring parishes. |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406212122/http://access.bl.uk/item/pdf/lsidyv2ae4164a |pages=38–47 |date=1893}}</ref>