All Saints, Idmiston

Much of Idmiston church is late 14th century and of some distinction, including the clerestory and the two-storey north porch with its steeply pitched roof and fine doorways. The nave arcades, given an effective striped appearance by the deliberate use of contrasting bands of stone, are late 13th century. The whole building was heavily restored by J L Pearson and Ewan Christian in 1865-67. A remarkable feature of the church is the collection of mediaeval carvings, in the form of elegant corbel-heads, roof bosses, and externally in the form of fearsome gargoyles. Monuments include one of 1633 to Giles Rowbach and several to members of the Bowle family. John Bowle, a vicar here, (d. 1788) was nicknamed Don Bowle because he edited an edition of Don Quixote.