Ashby-de-la-zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, often called Ashby, is a little market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, within the National Forest. It is a sister city with Pithiviers in north-central France and is positioned near to the Derbyshire border. The civil parish includes 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 10 miles of Ashby, with the city of Derby 11.5 miles to the north. The town is positioned at the heart of the National Forest and approximately 24 miles to the south of the Peak District National Park. It lies on the A42 national route between Tamworth and Nottingham. The permanent resident population of the town, in accordance with the 2001 census, was 12758, which increased to 13759 in the 2011 census. Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle was of importance from the 15th to the 17th centuries. In the 19th century, the town became a spa town and before the development of Coalville, it was the chief town in northwest Leicestershire. In the 19th century, its principal 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 retains its original Elizabethan half-timbering, although 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 projects, ensure that you select reputable specialists in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to ensure you get the best quality service.