Ashby-de-la-Zouch, usually called Ashby, is a small market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, in 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 contains 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, while the city of Derby is 11.5 miles north. The town is located at the heart of the National Forest and roughly 24 miles 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, according to the 2001 census, was 12758, which increased to 13759 by the 2011 census. Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle was of importance in the 15th to the 17th centuries. In the 19th century, the town became a spa town and ahead of the development of Coalville, it was the chief town in northwest Leicestershire. In the 19th century, its primary 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. Several the buildings in Market Street, the town's principal thoroughfare, are timber framed, but most of this was hidden by later brick facades. The Bull's Head public house still has its traditional 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 residence improvement upgrades, make sure that you use trusted specialists in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to ensure you get the top quality service.