The parish of St Edmund lies in the northern part of the city of Norwich, that portion north of the Wensum known as Norwich-over-the-Water. St Edmund was in one of the less-prosperous parts of the city and was based around a very small area adjacent to the banks of the Wensum. The mediaeval city centre of Norwich was divided into many small parishes and St Edmund covered a tiny area squeezed in between the larger parishes of St Clement & St James Pockthorpe. The area backed on to the Wensum and was a maze of small yards & courts bounded by Magdalen Street to the west & Whitefriars to the east. Whilst not the poorest area of the city, by any means, there were large numbers involved in the traditional industries of weaving as well as trades associated with the Wensum's wharfes.

St Edmund sits on the southern side of Fishergate backing on to the Wensum, the church is now classified as redundant and is no longer used for routine worship. The church is built almost entirely in the Perpendicular style characteristic of the late 14th to early 16th centuries, Pevsner solely gives a date to the southern chapel which he states was built in 1463, clearly most of the building predates that date. The church follows the standard design of nave & chancel with a western tower, the latter being notably wide for the building and there is extensive use of the local flint throughout. Following the redundancy of the church it had various uses suffering the indignity of being a factory store whilst recently it has become a Pregnancy Crisis advice centre.