Wotton House (or Wotton Estate) is in Wotton near Dorking, Surrey, England. Originally a country house and the seat of the Evelyn family, it was the birthplace in 1620 of diarist and garden landscaper John Evelyn, who built the first Italian Garden in England there.[1] Grade II* listed status was given to the garden in 1984, and the house and its two garden grottoes became Grade II* listed in 1987. Neglected in the 1980s and 1990s,[2] the property has since been fully restored, reopening in 2003[2] as a hotel with 111 bedrooms, incorporating a training and conference centre, and offering facilities to host weddings.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn
Construction
The house was built in the early 17th 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.Vorlage:Sfn There are distinctive terracotta decorations on brickwork, octagonal turrets and stacks, winged gryphons on the porch and Jean Derraux Chinese panels. The old orangery (now the centre's barVorlage:Sfn), has a decorative parapet and banded piers. Many of the doors feature small paintings above them.[3]
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.[4]Vorlage:Sfn The grounds are unusually highly listed as Grade II* and have two grottoes close to the house.[3][5][6][7]
Notable residents
Wotton House was the family seat of the Evelyn Family and John Evelyn, a diarist, landscape designer and collector, was born in a room still in existence there. He inherited the house and estates on the death of his brother George in 1699.Vorlage:Sfn
The descendents who inherited the house in turn included Conservative politician William John Evelyn (1822-1908), who was elected MP for Western Surrey from 1849 until 1857 and became MP for Deptford in 1885 until resigning in 1888.
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
- Wotton House Venue. CentralR (Central Reservations Limited), 2011, abgerufen im Mai 2012.
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Further reading
- ↑ a b "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
- ↑ a b Wotton_Bro_use. Principal Hayley, abgerufen am 21. November 2012.
- ↑ a b Vorlage:NHLE
- ↑ 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*.
- ↑ Vorlage:NHLE
- ↑ Vorlage:NHLE
- ↑ Vorlage:NHLE