The former village of Allestree became a suburb of the Borough of Derby in 1968. St Edmund's church was largely rebuilt and extended in 1865-6 by Stevens and Robinson of Derby. It retains a W tower of the 13thc. The only Romanesque feature is a S doorway that is partly renewed.

Before the Conquest Allestree (Adelardestreu) belonged to Earl Siward of Northumbria. In 1086 Allestree was one of three waste berewicks belonging to the manor of Markeaton, held by Earl Hugh of Chester. There is no mention of a church or priest in Domesday Book. St Edmund's, from its earliest foundation, seems to have been a chapel of Mackworth, and the rectors of the mother church were bound to provide a chaplain for the daily celebration at its altar. It became a separate parish in 1868.

Arnold-Forster (1899) 30, lists the pre-Reformation dedication as St Andrew. However, according to the church's website, the dedication to St Edmund is ancient.