Ashby-de-la-Zouch, usually called Ashby, is a small market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, inside the National Forest. It is a sister city with Pithiviers in north-central France and is located near to the Derbyshire border. The civil parish consists of the hamlets of Shellbrook, west of the town, and Boundary to its north-west. Nearby villages include Lount, Normanton le Heath, Smisby, Packington, Donisthorpe, Oakthorpe, Moira, Measham and Coleorton. The towns of Swadlincote, Burton-upon-Trent, Melbourne and Coalville are all within ten miles of Ashby, while the city of Derby is 11.5 miles to the north. The town is located at the heart of the National Forest and roughly 24 miles due south of the Peak District National Park. It is on the A42 national route in between Tamworth and Nottingham. The permanent resident population of the town, in accordance with the 2001 census, was 12758, which increased to 13759 by the 2011 census. Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle was significant from the 15th to the 17th centuries. In the 19th century, the town became a spa town and before the growth of Coalville, it was the chief town in northwest Leicestershire. During the 19th century, its major industries were ribbon manufacture, coal mining and brickmaking. The town was served by the Leicester to Burton-upon-Trent Line of the Midland Railway from 1849. A lot of the buildings in Market Street, the town's primary thoroughfare, are timber framed, but most of this was hidden by later brick facades. The Bull's Head public house still has its historic Elizabethan half-timbering, even though the majority of this was plastered over some years ago and can now no longer be identified from the street. For all your home improvement upgrades, be sure that you utilise reputable pros in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to ensure you get the very best quality service.