Wotton House (or Wotton Estate) is in Wotton near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is a grade II listed building. Originally a country house and the seat of the Evelyn family, it is now a training and conference centre.Vorlage:Sfn
Construction
The house was built in the early 17the 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 John Evelyn in 1877.Vorlage:Sfn
Gardens
John Evelyn (1620–1706) and his elder brother George created the first "Italian Garden" in England. Work on it started in 1643, was completed by 1652,[1] and it is the house's most famous feature.[2]Vorlage:Sfn
Notable residents
Wotton House was the family seat of the Evelyn Family and John Evelyn, a diarist, landscape designer, and collector, was born in it. He inherited the house and estates on the death of his brother George in 1699.Vorlage:Sfn
In the middle to late 20th century the house was leased to Home Office and used as the Fire Service College between 1947 and 1981.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn
Twenty-first century
Wotton House is currently owned by the Principal Hayley Group and the buildings are used as a hotel, training and conference centre.Vorlage:Sfn
Notes
References
Further reading
- ↑ "At Wotton on his brother's estate he and a relation George Evelyn introduced between 1643 and 1652 what was really the first Italian garden into England, terracing a steep hillside and fitting a little temple into the bottom of it." Vorlage:Harv
- ↑ Vorlage:Harvnb states that the Italian Garden is included in the "Register of Parks and Gardens of Historic Interest in England, Part 40 Surrey" as a II*.