The church was built in the early medieval period in Romanesque style, with vaulting added later in the Middle Ages. In the mid-19th century it was remodelled under the direction of the Lund cathedral architect Carl Georg Brunius, who altered the upper part of the tower, adding stepped gables and blind arcading, while the original nave vaults were removed.
A well-known local tale explains why Västra Vemmerlöv, historically part of Hammarlöv parish, came to have its own church: two sisters from a nearby farm are said to have decided to build it after one was bitten by a dog on the way to church in Hammarlöv. An alternative and less colourful explanation suggests the church may instead have been founded by monks from a nearby monastery. Both accounts should be treated as tradition rather than established fact.
The church's most striking features are its wall paintings, dated to around 1400–1500 and generally attributed to a painter known as the Harriemästaren, though one source instead names the Finjamästaren, an inconsistency in attribution worth noting. Long limewashed over, the paintings were only rediscovered in the late 1940s. They depict biblical scenes including the Last Supper, the Washing of the Feet, and the Annunciation, alongside a satirical image, possibly a wry comment on preaching friars from a nearby monastery, in which a fox addresses a flock of geese.//The exact meaning attached to this scene is a matter of local interpretation rather than confirmed history.//,