The parish of St Mary in the Marsh occupied much of the easternmost area of the ancient medieval city, today the area is dominated by not only the Cathedral but also the grounds of the King Edward private school. The parish sits on the western banks of the River Wensum as it passes through the city, here it forms the boundary of the medieval city with the wider county and the parish of Thorpe St Andrew. As the parish's name suggests the area was low-lying and prone to flooding much of the parish today sits as sports fields for the school and is often shallowly covered in water. The parish acreage also includes much of the Cathedral Close, the enclosed area surrounding the cathedral, a high-class residential area and location for prestigious businesses such as architects, lawyers, accountants and the like. It is clear from these baptism records that the parish was also important to the temporary inhabitants of the nearby Britannia Barracks which sits high above the city on the edges of Mousehold Heath with fine views across the medieval centre.

If you look for the church of St Mary in the Marsh today you will be disappointed as the medieval church which stood within the cathedral close was demolished in 1564. It was perhaps unusual for the cathedral close to have alongside it a parish church but both cathedral and parish church performed differing functions in society at that date. The medieval church was situated close to the river in the lower close. The continued existence of the parish was assured by being offered a side chapel of Norwich's great Norman cathedral for use as its "parish church" and where the ceremonies of baptism, marriage and pre-burial were performed. St Luke's chapel sits on the south side of the cathedral's ambulatory and holds the medieval font rescued from the destroyed church.