The church was built in 1664 on the site of a previous church, built between 1050 and 1064 by
Earl Thorfinn of Orkney. It was originally called Christ Church (or Christ's Kirk). The earlier church is the temporary burial location of
Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, also known as St Magnus, who was murdered on the island of
Egilsay in 1116. When Earl Magnus was declared a
saint around 1136, his bones were
exhumed at the church and placed in a
shrine on top of an
altar. The saint's bones were later moved to the new
St Magnus Cathedral in
Kirkwall, which was built in honour of the popular saint. The window was installed in the east wall of the church in 1904. St Magnus has been designated a Grade II*
listed building since 1971. The church continued to be used as a parish church until 1996. It was then given by the
Church of Scotland to a new established local trust, The St Magnus Church Birsay Trust. The trust is responsible for the preservation and maintenance of historic buildings. In 2012 the Church of Scotland opened the new Milestone Community Church building at Vetquoy Road, Dounby, which now serves the communities of Birsay, Harray and Sandwick. Since October 2024 the former ecclesiastical parish of Birsay, Harray and Sandwick has been part of the united
Orkney Islands Church of Scotland. ==Gallery==