The parish of Oulton lies in northern Norfolk about 4 miles northwest of the market town of Aylsham. Oulton sits about a mile east of the B1110 road which connects Norwich through to Holt. Oulton is a somewhat scattered settlement with no clearly defined village, a gathering of farms and cottages around the grounds of its Hall indicate that this may once have been a closed parish with most land held by a single landholder with inbound migration restricted, a scenario which often led to no village developing. The parish would have been dominated by the estate of Oulton Hall and its mansion (18th century) built for the Bell family, even the small tributary of the Bure which drains the parish has been modified as a parkland feature whilst passing through the estate. Like most Norfolk villages arable farming would have been the mainstay of the economy and it remains the dominant land-use today.

St Peter & St Paul's church sits on Church Lane, a narrow lane running through to Aylsham from the B1110, The church is a fairly typical example of Norfolk Perpendicular and a creation of that great church-building era of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Built to the standard layout of nave, chancel and western tower (slightly odd in not being centrally placed relative to the line of the main body), the church was once augmented by both northern and southern chapels, these have since been removed but their scars remain in the fabric. For once Pevsner does not mention a Victorian restoration so if such occurred it was light and sensitive. Church Lane is narrow but the verge is widened opposite the entrance gates to allow a car to park safely, the typical Norfolk flint & brick wall surrounds the churchyard which is open, uncluttered and with no obstacles to photography.