The parish of Plumstead (not to be confused with Great & Little Plumstead which are just east of Norwich) is located in northeastern Norfolk about 4 miles southeast of the small town of Holt. Plumstead sits about 2 miles east of the B1149 road, which connects Holt to Norwich, in network of lanes surrounded by many very small parishes. There is not too much to Plumstead, most of the properties lie along the main southeast to northwest running lane or its narrow offshoot which runs westwards to Edgefield. The area is intensively arable in nature although more undulating than many areas of Norfolk as the land rumples up towards the Cromer-Holt ridge, a glacial remnant. The soils are light and sandy making for easy cropping.

St Michael's church sits on the northern side of the main lane and is almost the notional centre of the settlement. The church is a mixture of the normal Perpendicular style of Norfolk, notably the southern arcade, but predominantly of the earlier Decorated period, the chancel notably Pevsner dates at circa 1300. As is usual for a Norfolk church there was a 19th century restoration, in this case of 1873 but that mainly impacted the tracery of the windows as well as replacing the internal roofing (scissor bracing in the nave and hammer-beam in the chancel). Tall trees rather mask the church from the roadside but inside there are fine views to be had.