Ashby-de-la-Zouch is a small market town in North West Leicestershire, England. Often known simply as Ashby, it has a population of around 13,500 people (2012 estimate).
Ashby-de-la-Zouch dates back to the Anglo-Danish period, when it was established. The name Ashby is Anglo-Danish meaning Ash-tree Farm. The French addition to its name came about following Norman Conquest, when the town became a possession of the La Zouche family. The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle, now in ruins, was built in the 12th century.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch and its castle passed into the hands of the Hastings family in 1464. The main street through town is Market Street. During the Middle Ages most of the houses here are timber framed. However these houses were later finished with brick façades which keep the timber framing hidden.
By the 19th century, a number of industries had developed in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, among them ribbon manufacturing, coal mining, leather making and brick making. These were helped with the construction of the Ashby Canal in 1804 and the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line of the Midland Railway in 1845. It also gained popularity as a spa town.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.