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MARKET STREET This is the main commercial
thoroughfare of the town. Old half-timbered buildings stand side
by side with houses of modern design; small businesses jostle with
 national
institutions to make up a lively balance of retailing and financial
transactions. The Bull’s Head is said to be one of the oldest
houses in Ashby, and dates from the 14th century. Other public houses
have interesting histories too. The Shoulder of Mutton is reputed
to have been the place where early ‘moving pictures’
were shown against its outside wall. The White Hart was the last
place in Ashby to stage bear-baiting and had the dubious honour
of being ‘the bawdiest public house in the Midlands’
in the 19th century. The Queens Head was one of the great posting-inns
of the town in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Another important
inn which still thrives in the town is The Lamb.
In the heart of the town centre you can choose anything from:-
Fine art to bridal gowns, light bulbs to washing machines, designer
t-shirts for guys to haut couture for the girls, homemade steak
pies to locally reared meat, greetings cards to encyclopaedias or
just enjoy your favourite tipple in one the five famous Inns in
Ashby’s  Market
Street.
The town’s War Memorial standing at the junction of Brook
Street and Market Street, was unveiled by Sir Joseph Hood, Bart.,
and Lady Hood on 8th June 1922. It now bears the names of the dead
of the 1939-1945 war and is the focus of the annual Remembrance
Sunday parade and service.
TOWN HALL Ashby boasts
a daily indoor market set in the splendid Town Hall built in 1856
on the site of the Bear Inn. A wide range of stalls offering fresh
local fruit, veg, flowers, cooked meats, d.i.y, books, perfume,
gifts, furniture and many other delights can be found in this Aladdin’s
Cave, it even boasts its own café.
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