The parish church is dedicated to Saint Aelhaiarn, but has sometimes been erroneously recorded as dedicated to Saint Giles, All Saints, and Saint Tysilio. The church is a very well-preserved 14th century church with an earlier tower, on the site of a pre-Norman church perhaps founded by the saint himself. There is an exceptional 14th century nave roof and a painted Tudor ceiling in the chancel. The tower of the present church dates to about 1300.
The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.