Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum

About

The museum is situated opposite Rugby School in the original building where William and then James Gilbert, boot and shoe makers, moved premises from High Street in 1842 to expand their rugby footballs manufacturing business. This tradition still continues today on site with Webb Ellis Ltd, giving it the accolade of having the longest continuous association with the game of rugby in the world.

The collection is displayed in four themed areas. These include the origins, the players, the game and the ball. Visitors to the museum can:

Learn about the traditional manufacture of the rugby ball from its origin as a pig's bladder to its highly technical production today.

Find out about the game's beginnings including the exploits of Rugby schoolboy William Webb Ellis and his 'fine disregard for the rules of the game' to the establishment of the first formal set of rules at Rugby School.

Discover how rugby grew into the popular international sport we know today.

The museum is unstaffed and visits are self-led. However you can take a tour of the Museum with a Rugby Town Guide on a sporting heritage tour with a Rugby Weekend Pass. Within the tour you can stitch your own mini Rugby ball in the same buidling that William Gilbert made his first balls - a truly authentic Rugby experience.