The parish of Coltishall lies in northeastern Norfolk about 7 miles northeast of the city of Norwich. Coltishall sits at the point where the B1150 road which links Norwich to North Walsham crosses one of the major rivers of Broadland, the River Bure. Coltishall is, and was more so, a substantial village which occupies a site to the north of the Bure both along the B1150 and its crossing road the B1354. Coltishall's fortunes have changed over the years, it was a thriving centre for malting and also building the famous Norfolk wherries, the transport workhorses of the Broadland rivers. Nowadays it is a commuter village, its population decanting to the city of Norwich for work on a daily basis. Despite the losses Coltishall still has substantial connections with its river in the form of the pleasure boat trade, Coltishall has several boating hire businesses. As a substantial village Coltishall also has its services preserved, shops, pubs and bus services are ample making for a thriving community still.

St John the Baptist's church sits to the east of the main crossroads and to the south of the B1354. Like many churches it covers a wide range of periods and styles. Fragments of pre-Conquest style windows, through Early English lancets and much of the Decorated period, particularly in the southern arcade through to the impressive Perpendicular western tower so typical of Norfolk churches. The whole building, however, was extensively renovated and restored in the 1860s and much is of that era. Whilst it is a hotchpotch it still has a coherent whole and is clearly a much loved centre of village life.