[2] For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Great Yarmouth.

[3] There was a station in the village adjacent to a level crossing on Rollesby Road Martham railway station, but this closed in 1959, when the entire line from Great Yarmouth to North Walsham was eliminated.

The bridge leads to Heigham Holmes, an island nature reserve, which can only be accessed by the public on special occasions.

[6] About 2 km (1.2 mi) to the north of the village is Martham Broad, a 140 acres (57 ha) nature reserve, which is not navigable by boat.

[citation needed] The Saxons settled in Martham around AD601[7] and gave the village its name, "the ham of the martens", the home of the polecats.