North Walsham is a substantial market town in North-eastern Norfolk. Situated roughly 5 miles in from the North Sea coast the town is on the south-western bank of the River Ant which drains into the main Broadland system to the south-east. North Walsham grew substantially during Mediaeval times thanks to the growth of the cloth trade sparked by the arrival of Flemish weavers. Nowadays the town is a regional shopping centre with all of the facilities to be expected of a small market town. A great asset to the own is the preservation of the Norwich to Cromer rail line which has leant a new function as a commuting location for workers to Norwich.

St Nicholas Church sits in the centre of the town to the north of the Market Place and standing in extensive grounds. The church is very large - 160 foot in length - as befits the substantial town with 7 bays to the body of the church. The church shows a rather early date for Norfolk being a mixture of the two styles of Decorated (late 13th/early 14th Centuries) and Perpendicular (mid to late 14th Century). The tower was once 147 feet high and one of the tallest in Norfolk but collapsed in 1724 and has been preserved after partial demolition to the present state in 1836. Like most Norfolk churches St Nicholas was extensively restored in Victorian times which has unfortunately masked much of the original features of the building.