The parish of West Somerton lies in eastern Norfolk not too far from its eastern North Sea coastline and sitting roughly 8 miles north of the port of Great Yarmouth. West Somerton, which includes the former parish of East Somerton, is a scattered village sitting on the northern edges of what had been in Roman times a discrete island, Flegg. Most properties sit just above the normal flood level and overlook the vast expanses of reed bed and grazing marshland that surround Martham Broad to the northwest of the village. Normal flood levels is stressed because the narrow strip of sand-dunes that protects this area have frequently been breached and memories of 1953 are still fresh in the minds of older residents. West Somerton would have been a farming village, the Broadland edge location grating it pastures as well as typical arable land, the marsh-man trades of reed thatch harvesting & wildfowling would have supplemented the farming incomes. Today the area is renowned for its nature and stark beauty, big skies and winter geese.

St Mary's church sits in between West & East Somerton on the slightly higher ground of the former island. The presence of a round tower immediately alerts to an early church, however for once the tower is not the earliest part of the church. Whilst most such towers are Saxo-Norman or Norman St Mary's tower is of the 13th century with lancet style bell-openings to prove its credentials. The tower is preceded by the Norman Romanesque nave with the southern doorway tentatively given  date of c1200 too. The Early English Gothic period of the 13th century saw the round tower added and the earlier nave shows signs of being extended to accommodate it. As one moves eastward the dating becomes later in the medieval period with the chancel in a Perpendicular style of the classic Norfolk church-building era, Pevsner dates it to the 15th century. A typical Victorian restoration completes the picture, in this case of 1867, at which point much of the fenestration was renewed along with a general refresh. The L-shaped dead-end lane of Church Road leads to the churchyard and a small patch of rough ground at the entrance to the adjacent field is frequently used for parking. The churchyard is hedged around, capacious and with no obstacles for the photographer.