Crimplesham sits in West Norfolk immediately to the east of Downham Market at the cross-roads between the Downham-Swaffham road and that from Kings Lynn to Thetford. Most of the village sits south-west of this junction and is barely visible from either. This is still a rural area and agriculture dominates the landscape, that this was more so in the 19th century is illustrated by the labourer and farmer who form the majority of fathers in this transcript,

St Mary's has a fine Perpendicular tower but of the rest the original carstone church is concealed by an 1877 "make-over". Some features indicate that a stone church has been present since the Norman times.