The parish of Long Stratton St Mary lies in southern Norfolk about 10 miles south of the city of Norwich. St Mary's parish is one of two associated with the small town of Long Stratton, it being the town's parish as opposed to the more rural parish of St Michael. Long Stratton sits on the busy A140 road which connects Norwich with Ipswich, a fact which has long caused suffering to the town with traffic a constant nuisance, campaigns for a by-pass appear to have finally in 2021 born fruit. Long Stratton had a small place in history, serving as a meeting place during Wat Tyler's uprising, a market came and went granting market town status for a period. Today Long Stratton is a growing settlement, its proximity to Norwich promoting lots of modern  commuter developments; nowadays Long Stratton spreads linearly along the A140 for almost 2 miles. The surrounding area is extensively farmed and almost totally dominated by arable fields, the area being something of a plateau at close to 50 metres above the sea.

St Mary's church sits on the eastern side of the A140 almost at the southern edge of Long Stratton's ribbon development. The presence of a round tower is usually indicative of an early church and St Mary is no exception, the tower being Norman and 12th century, albeit topped by 15th century battlements. The main body of nave, chancel augmented by arcades is a fairly typical example of 14th century work. The period spans the transition from Decorated into Perpendicular with both periods represented. Unusually the clerestory, a typical Perpendicular improvement, shows the earliest style windows from the Decorated style; Pevsner believes these to be a hangover from earlier fashions. Like most churches St Mary was extensively restored by the Victorians, in this case in the 1840s. The A140 passing the church is very busy, parking is best sought in the town car parks and the church approached on foot. The churchyard, surrounded by a typical flint & brick wall, has wooden gates midway along leading to a churchyard which has a single evergreen causing issues for the photographer but easily avoided using other angles.