The concept of a Village Reading Room had been seen as an important asset for the two villages towards the end of the Nineteenth century, with the initial provision being made available in the Rectory or in a village cottage, but only at certain times, and focussed on the male population.
The need for a more permanent facility that could be available year-round to all those from both villages was raised at the start of the twentieth century.
A brick building was constructed in a reasonable central position in the two parishes – given the distance to the various farms to the north and south. The sponsors were the Worth Townsend sisters – Misses Lizzie, Susan, Alice and Julia W Townsend, of Kings Newnham, who had proven many times they had the welfare of the people in the two villages at heart.
In 1910 the long-standing Lord of the Manor, the 6th Duke of Buccleuch (William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott), transferred his Rugby district properties to his son, the then Earl of Dalkeith (John Montagu Douglas Scott). It was the Earl of Dalkeith, who donated the land to be used for this new facility, in the same way his Great-Uncle Lord John Scott had built the Village School. The site and the building were handed over to trustees for ongoing management.
A rule of the new club / Parish Room was that it would be entirely non-political.
Details of the Opening Ceremony in 1912 are in the link shown.
A further donation from the Worth Townsend Family to the Reading Room was made in 1967 in the will of Mary Bertha Townsend (the first baby to be baptised at the new church in 1873).
More details on the later years of the Reading Room and its position at the heart of the village can be found here.