North Cerney lies about 4 miles N of Cirencester; the River Churn runs down the middle of the parish. The church is sited on sloping ground on the opposite bank of the River to the village, but close to the manor house. It is built of ashlar and rubble and consists of a chancel, a nave with transeptal chapels, a N organ chamber, a W tower and a S porch. The church was extensively restored by William Croome in the early 20thc, with Frederick Charles Eden acting as his architect (Hamilton 2017, 123-148). The Romanesque features comprise the tower windows, the S doorway, the chancel arch and some sculptural fragments in the nave.

In 852 Beorhtwulf, king of Mercia, granted Alfeah 12 hides of land in Cerney and Calmsden, which included the whole of the later parish of North Cerney. Part of Alfeah’s estate later passed to St Oswald's Priory, in Gloucester, and was among the lands of the priory that the Archbishop of York held in 1086. That land, known as the manor of North Cerney, was retained by the archbishop as a member of his barony of Churchdown until 1545.

The Historic England Building listing 1090185 states that the upper parts of the windows on the N and S sides of the tower were removed in the late 15thc due to a fire.