Desford is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, 7 miles (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 2011 census had increased to 3,930. Desford is in the Doomsday Book of 1086 but the name itself is older than that meaning Deor's Ford suggesting an Anglo Saxon Origen.

At Lindridge about 1 mile (2 km) north of the town is a rectangular moat up to 13 yards (12 m) wide enclosing an area about 115 yards (105 m) by 127 yards (116 m). In the 19th century it was temporarily drained and six early 14th century pottery vessels were found. A building such as a manor house is likely to have stood on the island created by the moat. The moat is a scheduled monument.

In 1261, the manor of Desford was held by Simon De Montfort until he was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. All his lands, which included Desford, were then given by Henry III to his own son, Edmund Grouchback, who was Earl of Lancaster until his death in 1297.

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. It is built of brick in English bond with stone quoins and has a timber frame. The house has a two-storeyed porch whose upper storey is jettied. Attached to the house is an early 18th-century service wing built of brick in Flemish bond. The Manor House and its attached buildings are Grade II* listed buildings.

South of the town, Reid and Sigrist had created Desford Aerodrome on Carts Field plus land in the adjoining Peckleton parish 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.

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.