Ashby-de-la-Zouch, generally referred to as Ashby, is a little market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, within the National Forest. It is twinned with Pithiviers in north-central France and lies close to the Derbyshire border. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Shellbrook, west of the town, and Boundary to its north-west. Some nearly villages are 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 around 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, as outlined by the 2001 census, was 12758, which grew to 13759 in the 2011 census. Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle was important 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 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. Numerous the buildings in Market Street, the town's major thoroughfare, are timber framed, but the majority of this was hidden by later brick facades. The Bull's Head public house still has its traditional 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 residence improvement upgrades, ensure that you select vetted pros in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to make sure you get the top quality service.