Ashby-de-la-Zouch, often shortened to 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 lies 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 north. The town is situated at the heart of the National Forest and approximately 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, 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 prior to the growth of Coalville, it was the chief town in northwest Leicestershire. In the 19th century, its most important 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 main thoroughfare, are timber framed, but the majority of this was hidden by later brick facades. The Bull's Head public house retains 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 your residence improvement work, ensure that you pick vetted professionals in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to ensure that you get the top quality service.