Ashby-de-la-Zouch, often called Ashby, is a little 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 situated near to the Derbyshire border. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Shellbrook, to the 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, with the city of Derby 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 is on the A42 national route in between Tamworth and Nottingham. The permanent resident population of the town, as outlined by the 2001 census, was 12758, which increased to 13759 in the 2011 census. Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle was of significance from the 15th to the 17th centuries. In the 19th century, the town became a spa town and ahead of the growth of Coalville, it was the chief town in northwest Leicestershire. During the 19th century, its main 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. Lots of the buildings in Market Street, the town's principal thoroughfare, are timber framed, but the majority of this was hidden by later brick facades. The Bull's Head public house still has its historic Elizabethan half-timbering, even though most of this was plastered over some years ago and can now no longer be seen from the street. For all of your house improvement upgrades, ensure that you choose trustworthy experts in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to ensure that you get the very best quality service.