The parish of Taverham lies in east central Norfolk about 6 miles northwest of the city of Norwich. Taverham sits on the A1067 road which connects Norwich with the market town of Fakenham and lies on the northern banks of the River Wensum. Taverham has changed markedly over the years, previously a middling sized riverside village, the expansion of housing development has almost engulfed Taverham such that, today, it is merely one of a number of suburbs of the city, Taverham being the northwestern edge of the built-up area. At the time of this transcript this would have been a discrete rural village, the typical arable farming being augmented by the paper mill which dominated local employment. The former Taverham Hall estate would have dominated the remaining economy, the home of the Micklethwait family and built in the 1850s in a neo-Jacobite style, the hall, today, is a preparatory school.

St Edmund's church sits just south of the main junction within Taverham and a half mile south of the A1067, set east of the lane which runs across the River Wensum to Costessey. The presence of a round tower is usually indicative of an early church and St Edmund doesn't disappoint, the basal portion of that round tower being of the 11th century, the octagonal top is later, 14th century, and in a Perpendicular style. Also of the Norman Romanesque period and immediately post-Conquest is the northern doorway which shows carstone quoins. Much else is of the early 14th or even late 13th century and Decorated in style, the chancel being a good example of this era's characteristics. A significant restoration of the 1860s saw renewal and also the addition of both southern aisle and arcade to complete the design. Costessey Road is narrow and does not permit parking, it is possible to get onto the gravelled driveway for the church but better to park a little further away and access the site on foot. The driveway leads through trees to the church, which sits within a slightly cramped site, the boundary being close to the southeastern corner and therefore removing that favoured aspect.