Earl Shilton (/ˈɜːrl ˌʃɪltən/ or locally [ɪw ʃɪwʔn̩] 'ill Shilton') is a market town in Leicestershire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) from Hinckley and about 10 mi (16 km) from Leicester. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 10,047.

The town's name derives from the Old English for 'farm/settlement on a shelved terrain'. In the Domesday Book (1086) it is recorded as Scheltone. Schulton or Scheltone is an ancient word, which means shelf; Shilton is therefore Scheltone or shelf-town, a derivation supported by the village's standing on the top of a long, narrow ridge in the southwest of the county.^{[citation needed]} .

The village of Earl Shilton would evolve on Shilton Hill in what would be south Leicestershire. Below the hill ran an ancient trackway known as the Salt Road, connecting east and west Leicestershire. A tribe known as the Corieltauvi constructed this road, running along the southern edge of the Great Leicester Forest, a vast tract of woodland which entirely covered west Leicestershire and stretched up into Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The Salt Road was a major artery of trade and passage for many centuries to come.^{[citation needed]}

The Corieltauvi tribe had moved to Britain from continental Europe some time after 100 BC. They were a confederation of Belgic warriors who carved out a kingdom which stretched from the Humber to south Leicestershire. These ancient Britons were not really a unified tribe, but a collection of peoples sharing the same way of life. The tribe generally did not rely on hill forts for their protection. It appears that the Corieltauvi were better farmers than warriors, for they lived in lowland settlements, usually beside streams, frequently surrounded, or even hidden, by areas of thick forest.^{[citation needed]}

The Roman army arrived in Britain in 43 AD, and quickly set about its conquest. Roman Legions spread north and west and by AD 47 were advancing into Leicestershire. At this time, Corieltauvi tribal chiefs were being severely harassed by their neighbours, the Brigantes, and so welcomed the Romans as a source of protection and stability. Ostorius Scapula, the Roman Governor in Britain, established the frontier zone delineated by the Fosse Way through the middle of friendly Corieltauvi territory.^{[citation needed]}

Earl Shilton’s first industry arrived during this period, as a pottery was established on Shilton Heath, (behind the modern day Heathfield High School). There was an excellent vein of clay found in the vicinity of Earl Shilton’s Roman kiln. Early in the second century it started producing low grade, grey ware pots, used for everyday cookery and storage (John Lawrence). Locally there was another pottery at Desford, and Stoney Stanton lived up to its name by the opening of a Roman quarry.^{[citation needed]}

Earl Shilton lay in the kingdom of the Middle Angles. Middle Anglia and Mercia were built around the River Trent and the rivers that flow into it, such as the Soar.

The first recorded attacks on Saxon England by Viking raiders came at the end of the eighth century. Being well inland, early Viking raids did not affect the villagers of Earl Shilton but in 874—875 a great heathen army of Danes moved up the River Trent and into the heart of Mercia. They attacked and overran Nottingham before moving their ships along the River Trent into north Leicestershire.^{[citation needed]}