The church is a simple hall church built of stone, without a tower. Records suggest a parish with its own vicar existed at Vibyggerå from the later thirteenth century, and it is thought the church itself may date from the very end of that century or the early fourteenth century, though this remains uncertain. Over the centuries the building has been altered and restored on several occasions.
The church fell out of regular use once Vibyggerå nya kyrka was completed in 1874. When the new church burned down after a lightning strike in 1916, destroying many of its furnishings, the parish was left without a place of worship and the old church was hurriedly repaired for use again. The new church reopened in 1919, but the old church continued to be used, mainly in summer, and underwent a further restoration in 1935.
Inside, visitors can see ceiling paintings dating from the 1730s and a largely intact eighteenth-century interior. The altarpiece, from 1771, is the work of Johan Edler, and the pulpit is attributed to Simon Geting, though another account dates the pulpit to 1740, so the two may refer to different furnishings or there may be some confusion in the sources. A medieval triumphal crucifix from the later Middle Ages also survives in the church. The original stone sacristy had to be demolished in 1647 after its walls began to collapse, and was replaced with one built of timber.
The church's bell history is closely tied to its wider fortunes. Vibyggerå received its first church bell in 1516, reputedly cast in Stockholm and bearing a Low German inscription; the parish later redeemed the bell during Gustav Vasa's confiscation of church property. The bell hung in a separate bell tower north of the church, known as Stapelkläppen, and a second, smaller bell was acquired in 1752. Both bells were later moved to the new church's tower, where they were destroyed in the 1916 fire; their metal was salvaged and used to cast a new small bell.