Ashby-de-la-Zouch, typically called Ashby, is a small market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, inside the National Forest. It's a sister city with Pithiviers in north-central France and is located close to the Derbyshire border. The civil parish consists of the hamlets of Shellbrook, to the 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 ten miles of Ashby, with the city of Derby 11.5 miles north. The town is positioned at the heart of the National Forest and approximately 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 significant from 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 key 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 major thoroughfare, are timber framed, but most of this was hidden by later brick facades. The Bull's Head public house retains its historic Elizabethan half-timbering, although most of this was plastered over some years ago and can now no longer be seen from the street. For all of your home improvement projects, make certain that you employ reputable pros in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to ensure that you get the very best quality service.