Ashby-de-la-Zouch, usually referred to as Ashby, is a little market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, in the National Forest. It's twinned with Pithiviers in north-central France and is situated near to the Derbyshire border. The civil parish includes 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, with the city of Derby 11.5 miles due north. The town is positioned at the heart of the National Forest and around 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 recorded in the 2001 census, was 12758, which increased to 13759 in the 2011 census. Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle was significant in the 15th to the 17th centuries. In the 19th century, the town became a spa town and prior to the development of Coalville, it was the chief town in northwest Leicestershire. During 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 main thoroughfare, are timber framed, but most of this was hidden by later brick facades. The Bull's Head public house still has its original Elizabethan half-timbering, though the majority of this was plastered over some years ago and can now no longer be identified from the street. For all your house improvement jobs, make sure that you choose trustworthy professionals in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to ensure you get the very best quality service.