A west tower with many vaulted stories was built first, for its defensive properties. Then the nave and chancel were built to the same width as the tower and church. A low attic was built above the church vaulting to serve as a hostel for pilgrims and for defensive positions. Later the upper stories of the tower were demolished and the whole church heightened with a continuous crenelated wall for archers. This was modernized in the 14th century with a parapet.
In the churchyard, or kyrkogården, many of the huge old flat gravestones date from the 1600's and 1700's. Older graves have been discovered from the11th and 12th centuries.
KÄLLA has been a place of importance since ancient times, partly due to the sacred heathen well of Källa near the old church, and partly due to trade through the nearby harbor. The first wooden stave-church was built there in the 11th Century. After it was destroyed by fire, and with increasing attacks from Baltic raiders, a new church of stone - with the aspect of a fortress - was constructed in stages over the next hundred years.
Between 1802 and 1807 the interior of the church - vaulting, partition walls and pillars - was demolished, and large windows made. A wooden barrel vault was built over the entire church. However, this construction seriously damaged the walls, and the congregation eventually moved to a new church they built at Vi in 1887-1888. The most valuable of the old Källa Kyrka's furnishings, including the 15th-century triptych carving and the pulpit from 1600, were moved to the new church. Many other items are now in museums. The old church has been under the care of the state since 1928.
SOURCE: Källa gamla kyrka, English Text byAlbert Read. Svenska fornminnesplatser nr 37, Ribergs Tryckeri AB, Uddevalla 1978