Willoughby, Warwickshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Willoughby is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England.
The village has a population of 381 (2001 census). The name 'Willoughby' derives from Old Norse Viligbýr = "willow farmstead".
Willoughby is next to the A45 road between Rugby and Daventry, and is adjacent to the border with Northamptonshire. The village contains a pub and several shops. The village pub "The Rose" dates from the 16th century and there was once another pub called the "Four Crosses Inn", it was originally the "Three Crosses Inn". This has now been converted to apartments. According to local legend the name was changed after the author Jonathan Swift who was staying at the inn had an argument with the landlord's wife, and engraved on a window pane "You have three crosses on the door, Hang up your wife and she'll make four".
Willoughby used to have a railway station on the former Great Central Railway. The station was originally called just "Willoughby", but was later changed to "Braunston and Willoughby" to try to attract traffic from the larger village of Braunston, a couple of miles to the south east. The station was closed in April 1957 and the line itself in September 1966. Almost nothing remains of the old station, or the 13 arch Willoughby Viaduct, to the south, crossing the River Leam, but sections of railway embankment and abutments of the old bridge over the A45 can still be seen. Just west of Willoughby is the Oxford Canal.
