The Rugby Football Union was formed in 1871- since that time a huge number of items have been collected and stored including match books, balls and programmes. In 1972 the RFU decided to create a museum at Twickenham to showcase these items and help tell the story of the professional game. The Museum was originally to be housed at 180 Whitton Street, but the location was considered too small and the house has been used as an archive ever since. Some of the early collection was housed in the West Stand at Twickenham from 1979 until 1983- however in 1983 the decision was made the build a purpose-built museum in the South Stand. The Museum of Rugby was opened on the 16th March 1996 by the then Secretary of State for National Heritage, Virginia Bottomley MP. Built as an interactive museum- the Museum of Rugby was designed to cater from everyone regardless of visitor's expectations about either museums or Rugby. Amongst the more traditional displays are cabinets filled with shirts, photographs and match programmes from the past century of the game. Also on display is the celebrated Calcutta Cup- formed from 270 melted rupees. Interactive touch screens activate various exhibits; A rugby scrum machine and cinema bring the game to life. The Museum of Rugby does require an admission charge, but the spectacular view over Twickenham's famous pitch is worth the charge alone.
Museum of Rugby
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Museum of Rugby Picture Gallery
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