Evelyn , family , of Wotton, Surrey

The writer and diarist John Evelyn (1620-1706) came from a landed estate at Wotton in Surrey. although as a younger son he did not expect to inherit the family lands. In 1647 he married Mary Browne, sole heir of Sir Richard Browne, and through this marriage gained Sayes Court in Deptford with surrounding lands (as confirmed by a grant from Charles II). Evelyn had a stong interest in horticulture and created a famous garden at Sayes Court.

However, Evelyn's elder brother died and he did inherit the Surrey estates, moving there and letting out the house at Deptford. His most famous tenant was Peter the Great, czar of Russia, who was visiting Deptford to study shipbuilding and whose drunken revelries caused damage to the gardens. The estate remained in the Evelyn family, although the manor house was torn down in 1728 and a workhouse and the Admiralty Victualling Yard were built on the site.

Wotton and the other Evelyn estates passed down to Evelyn's great-great-grandson Sir Frederick Evelyn, 3rd baronet (1733-1812). In 1884 W J Evelyn granted some of the land to the London County Council to create a public open space.