Floral

The Manor of Wotton was first documented in 1086.
The name literally means „the farm by the wood‟
from the early Saxon words wudu and tum.
The house itself was noted in the Domesday Book
as a moated Manor House. It had many owners
before being acquired by Sir David Owen, related
to the Tudor family and Henry VII.
It remained the property of the Owen family
throughout the reigns of Henry VIII and Edwards
VI and Mary until, during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth I, the estate and buildings were
purchased by George Evelyn, in 1579.

Born into a family whose wealth was largely
founded on gun powder production, John Evelyn
was born in Wotton, Surrey, and grew up in the
Sussex town of Lewes. He was educated at Balliol
College, Oxford and at the Middle Temple. While in
London, he witnessed important events such as the
execution of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford.
Having briefly joined the Royalist army, he went
abroad to avoid further involvement in the English
Civil War. He travelled in Italy, attending anatomy
lectures in Padua in 1646 and sending the Evelyn
Tables back to London. In 1644, Evelyn visited the
English College at Rome, where Catholic priests
were trained for service in England. In the Veneto
he renewed his acquaintance with the Collector
Earl of Arundel and toured the art collections of
Venice with Arundel's son and heir. He acquired an
ancient Egyptian stela and sent a sketch back to
Rome which was published by Athanasius Kircher
in his Oedipus Aegyptiacus (1650), though to
Evelyn's annoyance, without acknowledgement to
him
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WOTTON HOUSE

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WOTTON HOUSE
In 1694 Evelyn moved back to Wotton,
Surrey because his elder brother
George had no living sons available to
inherit the estate. Evelyn inherited the
estate and the family seat Wotton House on
the death of his brother in 1699.
Sayes Court was made available for rent.
Its most notable tenant was Russian tsar
Peter the Great who lived there for three
months in 1698 (and did great damage to
both house and grounds). The house no
longer exists, but a public park of the
same name can be found off Evelyn Street.

John Evelyn, a 17th Century English gentleman
was a visionary of his time. His diaries paint a
remarkable account of 17th Century life in both
England and on the continent. One of the first
naturalists and conservationists, a
famous botanist and tree expert. He was
enthusiastically in favour of reforestation to
make good losses due to heavy timber
consumption made by the ship building, iron
smelting and charcoal industries. He had many
books published in his lifetime, several on the
subject of trees and gardens. He designed part of
the gardens here at Wotton, which are rewarded
with a grade 11 listing separately from the house.
Evelyn‟s personal motto “Explore all things,
retain the best, has provided inspiration for our
team over the years.
John Evelyn loved Wotton and although he had
chosen later to live on his wife‟s ancestral home,
he told his wife that “Wotton is still my most
cherished place on earth”

The house was built in the early 17 th century by the
Evelyn family who extended it in the later 17th century.
In the 18th century it was extended eastwards by
William Kent. Further extensions and alterations were
made in the early 19th century by Francis Edwards.
Following a fire in the 1870s the house was restored and
enlarged by Henry Woodyer for
William John Evelyn in 1877.
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WOTTON HOUSE
Wotton House and estate was the later passed down to
Evelyn's great-great-grandson Sir Frederick Evelyn 3 rd Bt.
The baronetcy next passed to Frederick Evelyn's cousins,
Sir John Evelyn, 4 th Bt and Sir Hugh Evelyn 5 th Bt, both
these two were of unsound mind and the estate was
therefore left to a remote cousin descended from the
diarist's grandfather's first marriage, in whose family it
remains to this day though they no longer occupy the
house.
The title died out in 1848. However, there are many living
descendants of John Evelyn the diarist via his daughter
Susanna, Mrs William Draper, and his granddaughter
Elizabeth, Mrs Simon Harcourt. There are also many
living descendants of his great-grandson Charles Evelyn,
who was the grandfather of the last baronet, Sir Hugh
Evelyn, 5th Bt

John wrote of Wotton
“The house is large … and so sweetly environ„d
those many delicious streams and venerable
woods, as in the judgement of strangers, as well as
Englishmen, it may he compared to one of the
most tempting and pleasant seates in the nation.”

John Evelyn was also a famous botanist and tree
expert.
He had many books published in his lifetime,
several on the subject of trees and gardens,
designing at least part of the gardens at Wotton,
with some help from his brother George, in an
Italian style, revolting against Tudor formalism.
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WOTTON HOUSE
Extensive alterations were made to the original
house in the second half of the 17th Century, and
the house and grounds have continued to be
altered and improved periodically ever since.
The front of the house gives the appearance of a
Tudor or Jacobean Mansion, but in reality this
façade is a Victorian creation, carried out by
William John Evelyn in the last half of the 19th
Century.
W J Evelyn also kept a menagerie near the House,
including Kangaroos, which eventually escaped in
the direction of Leith Hill.
W J Evelyn‟s only son John succeeded him in 1908
and died in 1922. His older son C J A Evelyn,
known as Jack, followed on, until inheritance by
his nephew Mr Patrick Evelyn in 1965, who
remains the present estate owner and Lord of the
Manor of Wotton.

Entrance Drive and Forecourt:
The general arrangement of a straight
driveway approaching from the north
is indicated on 17th century sketches
by John Evelyn and John Aubrey. The
flank walls to the drive and the
buildings which form the sides of the
entrance date from a later period.
Late 17 th Century watercolour of Wotton
by John Aubrey
Irish Garden:
The Irish garden formally part of the
park lying to the north of the house
and was incorporated into the
gardens in the late 19th century. The
garden is enclosed on the north, east
and west sides, with a fountain basin
which survives in the centre
constructed between 1872 and 1896.
There are some fine trees in this area,
notably a plane tree in the south-east
corner.

Canalised Course of the Tillingbourne:
The River Tillingbourne flows along the
north side of the house and may have
formed a part of the moat around the
original manor. The southern arm of the
river was filled in with spoil when the
mount was constructed. The channel is
now revetted in stone and forms an
attractive feature which separates the
house from the gardens to the north.
Grotto, Pool and Pulhamite Stonework:
Following the course of the Tillingbourne
down the eastern side of the house, there
are considerable areas of Pulhamite
stonework along its banks, including a
narrow bridge. The brick wall with halfround
clay tiles appears on photographs
of 1898 and continues along the terrace
on the south of the house. There is a
substantial Pulhamite grotto on the
eastern bank of the stream and a pool in
the corner of the house terrace, also
revetted with rockwork. Pulhamite is a
patent render system developed by
James Pulham in the mid 19th century. It
is used either in combination with real
boulders and brickwork, or as a complete
substitute, to create artificial rockwork.
Photo taken from the Irish garden of the River Tillingbourne 2009
Photograph taken for publication in Country Life Illustrated, dated 1898

Eastern area of the Garden:
A small fountain basin dating from the
early 20th century lies to the east of the
stream, surrounded by what may have
been the tiled floor of a small
greenhouse. This floor has been
gravelled over to protect the tiles from
the elements. The alignment of the brick
wall which currently forms the eastern
and southern boundaries of the garden
corresponds with a wall shown on one
of John Evelyn's sketches. It is possible
to walk along the eastern bank of the
stream and to cross to the western side
above a small cascade.
Eastern lawn fountain basin, photo taken 2009
Terrace and Main Garden to the South of the
House:
The terrace on the south side of the house
was shown lying between the house and the
moat on John Evelyn‟s drawing of the garden
in 1640. The moat was later filled in and the
present terrace is a 19th century restoration.
The wide axial path linking the house to the
temple is similar to the original design but is
also a 19th century restoration.
“A Rude Draft of Wotton garden before my Brother
altered it and as it was 1640”, by John Evelyn

The Fountain:
The fountain was originally designed as
the centrepiece of the 17th century
parterre. The basin is more recent. A
photograph of 1898 shows the fountain
from the rockwork and conch shells. The
leat feeding the fountain has remained
from the original garden and can be seen
on the eastern side of the mount.
Mount and Temple:
The mount was carved into terraces
from the end of a hill by George Evelyn
in1652. The temple, built to the designs
of Capt. George Evelyn in 1649 has
been substantially restored. The
statues of the Four Seasons which
stand either side of the upper steps to
the mount appear on the 1898
photographs, and probably date from
the Victorian period. From the top of
the mount the remains of the walled
kitchen gardens can be seen beyond
the drive to the north east.
Photographs taken for publication in Country Life Illustrated, dated 1898

Remains of Greenhouse and Fernery:
Neither of the greenhouses constructed
between 1872 and 1896 at the western end
of the terrace have survived intact.
Rockwork from the western most
building has survived, probably from an
elaborate fernery. Beyond this is more
Pulhamite. The whole area is likely to
have been constructed at the same time
as the eastern grotto.
Walled Garden and Tortoise House:
A rectangular enclosure is shown on a
survey of 1818. The Tortoise house and
pool is first shown on the Ordinance
Survey map of 1914 within the walled
enclosure. The rectangular pool was built
for terrapins not tortoises. It contained a
rock pile to enable them to bask clear of
the water and a fountain spout within the
rockwork.
The Wire Works Pond:
To the west of the house lay the wire
works pond which was completely
removed between 1840 and 1872. it was
part of the considerable amount of
industry which used to be carried out
along the course of the now gentle
Tillingbourne stream.
Photograph taken for publication in Country Life Illustrated, dated 1898
3 rd Edition Ordnance Survey Map, dated 1914