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Desford is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of England, 7 mile (11 km) west of the centre of Leicester and around 7 miles north east of Hinckley. Situated on a hill approximately 400 feet above sea level, the parish includes the hamlets of Botcheston and Newtown Unthank and a scattered settlement at Lindridge. The population at the 2021 census had increased to 4,592. Desford is in the Doomsday Book of 1086 but the name itself is older than that meaning Deor's Ford suggesting an Anglo Saxon origin. Another suggestion is that it means 'ford frequented with wild animals'.

At Lindridge about 1 mile (2 km) north of the town is a rectangular moat up to wide enclosing an area about by In the 19th century it was temporarily drained and six early 14th century pottery vessels were found. The Old Hall or Old Manor House in Desford High Street is a gable roofed building with an irregular front of four bays, dating from about 1600 or a few years thereafter. but the present building appears to be late 13th century. The chancel includes two lancet windows. St. Martin's is a Grade II* listed building. St. Martin's parish is part of a united benefice with St. Mary Magdalene, Peckleton. Desford has a free church, built in 1866 at the top of Chapel lane, which is a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. In 1790, the little chapel of the Strict Baptists was built in the High Street but only the graveyard with a few stones remains.

Until the 1700s most of the residents were engaged in agriculture farming arable strips in four open fields in the parish and pasturing their animals on the low lying meadows by the streams. Desford's common lands 1000 acres of open fields were enclosed by Act of Parliament in 1759 Prior to the Industrial Revolution the cottage industry of stocking or framework knitting developed in the village, the first reference being in 1704. This continued well in to the 19th century, with over a hundred framework knitters being recorded in the 1851 Census. The 19th century was a time when coal mining became a large scale industry in west Leicestershire. In 1875 an unsuccessful attempt was made to sink a coalmine in the parish, at Lindridge. This failed due to constant flooding. In the present century the nearest coal mine, Desford Pit, only two miles away, employed many Desford people until it closed in 1984. To commemorate the pit’s closure a half winding wheel was erected in Lindridge Lane by the Desford History Society. The Leicester and Swannington Railway was built through the parish in 1832 initially to haul coal from the coalfields to Leicester. It passes within 0.6 mile (1 km) of the town and Desford railway station was built at Newtown Unthank to serve the parish. The Midland Railway took over the line in 1845 and had extended it to by 1848. British Railways withdrew passenger services in 1964 and today the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line carries only goods traffic. The larger houses in Station Road were built for middle class commuters to Leicester. Caterpillar Inc. is now a significant employer in the parish (see below).

Over the years Desford has possessed a number of inns and pubs including The Blacksmiths Arms, The Blue Bell, The Bulls Head, The Red Lion, The Lancaster, The Roebuck, The Wheel and the White Horse. By 1936. It was a flying training school, with George E. Lowdell as its Chief flying Instructor. The majority of aeroplanes used were De Havilland Tiger Moth single engined biplanes. An early form of flight simulator was also used and was visible from the public road. Leicester Aero Club used the aerodrome until it moved to nearby Ratcliffe Aerodrome. Early in 1939 Lowdell flew the first flight of the New Malden built Reid and Sigrist R. S.1 Snargasher from Desford. During World War Two the aerodrome was an RAF training centre. Reid and Segrist developed the R. S.3 Desford as a trainer aircraft for use after the war. The aerodrome has been redeveloped as an industrial site where Caterpillar Inc. has a large factory. The officers mess was located on what is now the Sport in Desford site.