The parish of Hanworth lies in northeastern Norfolk roughly 5 miles north of the market town of Aylsham. Hanworth sits just under 2 miles west of the A140 road which connects Norwich with Cromer. Hanworth is a curiously scattered village, a small centre around a triangular village green and the remainder spread across th edges of its common. Hanworth was principally an estate village, largely owned and managed by the estate of Hanworth Hall, home to the Doughty family. Like most Norfolk parishes Hanworth was primarily an arable farming community, however, its location on the edges of one of the River Bure's major tributaries, the Scarrow Beck, gave it access to some pastureland. This area of the county has a mosaic of tiny rural parishes, Hanworth occupies a mere 1,350 acres with 7 others all within a mile or so.

St Bartholomew's church sits, in splendid isolation, almost a mile southeast of the main village across that common and adjacent to the grounds of Hanworth Hall. The church is a typical example of a Norfolk church largely built in the 14th century and combining the Decorated style, here shown to good effect in the Chancel, with the Perpendicular style which followed. A single round-head but blocked window in the chancel is perhaps indicative of a commencement in the late 13th century. Much else within the church is Perpendicular, the western tower and the southern aisle showing that style well. The clerestory is also a typical feature of the late 14th century, designed to improve internal lighting. Documentary evidence of donations in wills indicate repair and restoration were underway as early as the late 15th century whilst, as is usual, the Victorians made their restoration in the early 19th century. Hanworth's access road, The Common, heads southeast and then east from the village to the A140, the church sits at that distinct kink. A pull in just west of the site provides parking and a shaded grassy path leads into a square churchyard with no obstacles for the photographer.