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:-
Brides to tots, light bulbs to washing machines, t- shirts
to haut couture, 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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