About 1⁄3 mile (540 m) west of the village is a hillfort, Idbury Camp. It was used in the Iron Age, Roman occupation and Saxon era, and possibly earlier. The village's toponym is derived from the Old English for "Ida's burh", further attesting to the fort's continued use in the Saxon era.[2] The remains of its rampart are about 33 feet (10 m) wide, up to 16 inches (0.4 m) high and enclose an area of about 9 acres (3.6 ha). The fort is a scheduled monument.[3][4]
The tower has three bells, two of which are medieval. The second and tenor bells were cast in about 1420 by an unknown bellfounder, and the treble was cast in 1749 by Abel Rudhall of Gloucester.[7] There is also a Sanctus bell that was cast in about 1320[7] and hangs in a bellcote on the gable end of the nave above the chancel arch. The tower also has an early turret clock of a type that is unusual for this part of England.[8] It has a wooden frame more characteristic of the Midlands.[9] Early in the 18th century the clock was modified with the addition of a new escapement of unusual design,[9] but the clock itself is considerably older. St Nicholas' parish is part of the Benefice of Shipton-under-Wychwood with Milton-under-Wychwood, Fifield and Idbury.[10]
