The Reverend William Gilpin. On the north wall is the wall tablet to William Gilpin, Boldre's most celebrated vicar. His interesting chest tomb is in the churchyard on the north side of the church.
Also of note in the chapel are the stone carvings on either side of the windows and both sides of the pillars between the nave and the chapel, two Bishop's Chairs on either side of the altar, and the paving stones, once headstones in the churchyard, which provide good examples of the early practice of letting single words run over from one line to the next.
The wooden altar and surround were given in memory of James Allen Young in 1923, and the altar-rail was given by Creswell Hartley Desmond and his sister Phoebe in the 1930s in memory of their mother. >> More about William Gilpin

NAVE, CHANCEL & SANCTUARY - Moving back into the Nave, the visitor sees the Pulpit, designed by Norman Shaw, a leading late 19th century architect who, as well as several churches, also built Scotland Yard. The pulpit (1876) was given in memory of the Reverend Charles Shrubb, curate, then vicar, for 57 years from 1817, and followed by his son-in-law, the Reverend E. H. Elers, vicar till 1912. The stone flooring and steps of the chancel and sanctuary were given in memory of another Shrubb, John Peyto Charles, by his widow in 1921.
From here one has a good view of the Barrel or Waggon Roof of the nave with its carved bosses, typical of the work of country craftsmen in the 14th century. In 1958 several were taken down to have woodworm damage repaired and a member of the congregation climbed the builder's scaffolding to repair and paint the remaining seven in situ as they could not be removed from the strong iron spikes holding them. The North Window (1880) depicts Jesus predicting the Raising of Lazarus.
The East (de Mowbray) Window, 1967, depicts Christ in Glory, and was designed by Alan Younger of London. It is in memory of Sub Lieutenant Richard de Mowbray RN and of his father Captain Eric de Mowbray CBE RN and was given by Mrs Louise de Mowbray and her younger son Colin. The window shows the robed figure of Christ reigning from the cross, and the main tracery contains a representation of the dove, symbolising the Holy Spirit. The richly coloured emblems, of triangular shape, linked with and flowing from the dove, represent the Gifts of the Spirit (Isaiah 11.2). This is one of Alan Younger's earliest commissions, and he was able to restore it himself after it had a brick thrown through it in 1995. Later windows of his include the Bede window in the Galilee Chapel of Durham Cathedral, the Rose window in St Alban's Cathedral, and two recent lancets in Chester cathedral. The South West window in this church is also by him. Also in 1967 the panelling and screens behind and to the sides of the altar were removed to show the whole length of the East Window. At the same time the mediaeval window and embrasure to the south of the altar, omitted in the 1855 rebuilding of the chancel, was reinstated.

The Lectern was carved to a design by Creswell Hartley Desmond by his sister, Phoebe, over a period of twenty years, from two pieces of oak from Boldre Grange, and given to the church in 1952 in memory of four previous incumbents. On the flat surface of the wall between the lectern and the south aisle can still be seen the faint traces of a mediaeval painting. The masonry of this respond or half-pillar and the three Norman arches between it and the font form the oldest part of the present church dating from 1080.
At one time there was a rood screen dividing the chancel from the nave. Above it was a rood loft, used by the small orchestra and choir soloists who led the singing in the church. The 15th century wooden doorway to the loft staircase, long since infilled, is in the south aisle. The choir in the church has a long tradition. As long ago as 1792 a friend of William Gilpin remarked that "there were several fine heads in the church, and the band of singers full of rough harmony." However when they struck for more pay in 1811 they were replaced by a less demanding choir from the daughter church of South Baddesley. Since that time there has been a succession of excellent organists who have made possible choral singing of a high standard. In recent years the choir has sung Evensong on a number of occasions at Winchester and Salisbury cathedrals.

THE TOWER AND SOUTH AISLE - The Tower is on the south side of the chancel. Before the pipe organ was installed the base was probably used as a Lady Chapel (there is a 14th century trefoiled piscine in the south wall). The organ was built from parts of the organ at the 1851 Great Exhibition and given to the church in 1885; its pipes completely filled the tower. In 1990 the pipe organ was replaced by a Copeman-Hart electronic organ located at the east end of the south aisle; the original organ pipes are now in a church in Romania. For the space in the tower thus freed the PCC in 1993 commissioned a forged steel chandelier from Richard Bent of Romsey, whose parents ran The New Inn (Hobler), Setley. It was dedicated by the Archdeacon of Winchester and commemorates the 900th anniversary of the church, as recorded by the wall plaque there. There are Eight Bells hung in the Tower of which the original three were listed in the church inventory of 1552. The bells were recast during the incumbency of the Reverend Charles Shrubb in the 19th century, and repaired and rehung in 1927, at which point five more were given to the church, making a peal of eight. Recently the tower had to be strengthened and the peal was then converted to be rung as a carillon.

The Breeches or Geneva Bible on view is an edition printed in 1615 (the first edition was published in 1560). Opposite it is a copy of the 'She' Bible of 1613, so called from the confusion in Ruth 3.15, when one of the three printings used the word 'He' instead of 'She'.
As one returns down the south aisle, the Font is reached, beside the south porch. Octagonal, and of 15th century date, it sits upon a tall modern stem and base. Opposite it is the Parish Chest, used for the storage of parish registers and church plate before the modern safe, but given away at the time of the 1855 restoration. It was discovered in the Lymington workhouse and returned to the church, though the original lid was stolen in 1983.
Beside it will be found a detailed guide (A Short History of the Saints, by the Reverend J. H. M. Staniforth) to the Embroidered Pew Runners. These were all worked by the Boldre Church Needlework Guild starting in 1956, as well as the three hundred hassocks, four sets of communion vestments, three altar frontals and a festal cope. The pew runners all bear the arms of British saints and the coloured backgrounds indicate their status: red for a martyr, royal blue for a king or queen, purple for a bishop, black for a monk and white for a nun.

The Graves Register is also opposite the Font, with instructions how to use it, listing all the names of those buried between 1710-1993. It also contains a list of all those commemorated on the grave slabs, wall tablets and windows in the church, of which the oldest named slab is of 'Mary died 19th April 1693'. However the very oldest name appearing on any slab is that of 'Arthur Bromfield - died 26 May 1650' and mentioned on his grandson's tombstone as being buried nearby. On the pillar immediately opposite the font is a brass plaque to the Reverend Richard Johnson, Curate to William Gilpin in 1784/5. He sailed as Chaplain with the First Fleet to found the penal Colony of New South Wales, Australia, in 1788 and built the first wattle and daub church at his own expense. There are now close links with the second replacement church of St Philip's Church, Sydney, where his bible and prayer book are displayed in his commemorative chapel. The plaque was dedicated by the Bishop of Sydney North when he was attending the Lambeth conference in 1988. There is a booklet - The Bishop of Botany Bay - on the life of Richard Johnson available in the church.

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