The parish of Roughton lies in northeastern Norfolk about 4 miles south of the seaside resort of Cromer. Roughton stands at the junction of the A140 road (Norwich to Cromer) with the B1436 (which heads northwestwards towards Sheringham). Roughton is largely built along these two roads with infill from short dead-end lanes running off. The area is quite undulating for Norfolk as it sits towards the eastern end of the glacial feature of the Cromer/Holt Ridge, a large deposit from the most recent Ice Age. The soils formed upon that ridge are stony and of poor quality and a large area of the parish to its northeast was the heathland of Roughton Heath. Otherwise the settlement would have earned its living through arable agriculture.

St Mary's church sits to the east of the A140 road accessed by a short lane. One glance at the round tower indicates that this is one of Norfolk's oldest churches. Pevsner prevaricates on its exact date perhaps favouring late Saxon rather than early Norman, either way it places the building in 11th century. There was clearly a later reconstruction or enhancement in the Decorated period of 14th century as the chancel, northern porch and an aisle window are clearly of this period. As is usual there was much restoration from the 19th century and Pevsner again is reluctant to trust the dating of some features as he fears they are from that period rather than that indicated by their style. The church stands, at the end of its lane (Church Loke), behind a low flint & brick wall with open fields to the south. It is quite a dominant site overlooking the shallow valley in which the majority of the village lies.