St Rufus is a large, tall, rectangular building, built in a style described by Charles McKean as "flamboyantly perpendicular", which he contends is typical of Gillespie Graham's work. The church's most notable feature is the square, four-stage bell tower, with clocks on three of its faces, attached to the church's western gable. It sits on a low hill near to the River Isla, on the eastern outskirts of the village that surrounded the Old Keith church. New Keith, which began construction around 1750, lies to the south and east of the site.
