Martin's is a Grade II* listed building. The first rector of St Martin’s was recorded in 1246 as Brian de Walton. It is believed a rood-screen once stretched across the chancel arch and above the screen was an image of Christ impaled on the cross. 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. Economic history 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 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). Public houses Over the years Desford has possessed a number of inns and pubs including The Blacksmiths