the "Shoulder of Mutton Inn" (where the Marks and Spencers shop used to be) 19th-century development Rugby for centuries was merely High Street, Sheep Street, North Street, and the Market Place. It only grew into an important settlement during the 19th century. Influence of Rugby School Rugby School, one of England's oldest and most prestigious public schools, rose to national prominence in the 1820s through the teaching methods pioneered by its headmaster, Dr Thomas Arnold, which contributed to a radical change in Public School education in England. Most of the present school buildings, near the centre of the town, date from this period. In 1823 William Webb Ellis is said to have invented Rugby Football when he picked up the ball and ran with it. The growing popularity of the school in the early 19th century led to an increase in population of the town. Many immigrants came to Rugby, many of whom were Rugby School pupils' parents, who preferred their sons to be able to go to a normal home life each night instead of having to endure school conditions (poor food, crowding, bullies) 24 hours every day; in Rugby such immigrants were called "sojourners". This caused Rugby to expand along Bilton Road and Dunchurch Road. Rugby School during this period was immortalised by Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical novel Tom Brown's Schooldays. Coming of the railways The major factor in the growth of Rugby was the arrival of railways. In 1835 Rugby was a small rural town with a population of around 2,500. However, in 1838, one of the first trunk lines to be built in England, the London and Birmingham Railway, an early part of what later became the West Coast Main Line, was built around the town. In 1840, the Midland Counties Railway, which linked the East Midlands with North East England, formed a junction with the London and Birmingham, making Rugby the busiest and most important railway junction in Britain. Soon railways were being built into Rugby from several different directions. The main Trent Valley Line from Stafford was built into Rugby in 1847. A line to Market Harborough and Peterborough was opened in 1850, and a line to Leamington Spa was opened in 1851. The Northampton loop line to Northampton opened in 1881. For nearly 30 years, nearly all rail traffic between London, the Midlands, the north of England, Scotland, and north Wales passed