The parish of St Martin at Palace Plain lies in the centre of the mediaeval city of Norwich. The parish is just south of the River Wensum and covers a small area to the north of the Cathedral Close. Palace Plain leads from the Saxon Market Place of Tombland away to the old city walls along the line of Barrack Street. The area is a mixture of residential, public buildings and businesses.

St Martin at Palace church sits in a dominant position on a triangle of ground crossed by Palace Plain. The church has little of its original features - the chancel and nave being rebuilt in the mid-19th century following a collapse. What remains of the fabric indicates a 15th century origin for the present building although archaeological digs have indicated earlier churches, including wooden frame churches, were on the same or similar site previous to the Norman conquest. Nowadays the church is no longer a place of worship being utilised as a probation day-centre for the adjacent county courts since the late 1980s and managed by the church's trust.