Scandal and Murder in Ashby Peer into the more unsavoury nooks and crannies of Ashby's past. Death stalked passageway and tenement, scandal seeped out from behind lace curtains or slunk behind respectable facades. You will not view the town in the same light again. A Thousand Year Journey through Ashby's History We take a gentle stroll which will identify traces of Anglo Saxon and Norman occupation. We explain the influence of the Zouch family and the origins of the town’s name, walk through the medieval planted “new” town and meet the protagonists of the Civil Wars. We come more up to date with the Victorians, the failed Spa Town and identify some of the buildings which have been with us for more than 400 years.
The Dark Side of Ashby An evening of sanitation, slums and seamy characters. By the end of the evening you will not want to go back to the “Good Old Days”. We explore the 1800s when the majority of the population of the rapidly expanding town lived in appalling conditions. Ashby the Spa Town Ken Hillier will explain the rise and fall of Ashby’s hopes of becoming a second Harrogate or Buxton. Ken outlines the origins of the Baths which used to occupy a dominant position behind the Royal Hotel, caused the development of many of our buildings and faltered and eventually fell in the 1960s. A History of Ashby's Inns and Ale Houses This has always been one of our most popular walks (the research has also been popular). We look at the history of the pubs and the characters associated with them. Over the last 500years there have been a lot of pubs in the centre of Ashby – we will try to explain why and where they were. |
