Wotton House. "[T]aken in perspective from the top of the Grotto by Jo: Evelyn 1653." This sketch of Wotton House, taken from the most convenient vantage point just east of the house, shows that Henry Woodyer's work on Wotton House has left the rear very much as it was when John Evelyn was a young man. Evelyn was an early enthusiast in the field of architecture: he liked to do "perspectives," was a close friend of Sir Christopher Wren, translated Fréart de Chambrey's A Parallel of the Antient Architecture with the Modern (adding to it an "Account of Architects and Architecture" of his own), and drew up his own plans for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire. The increasing professionalism and technological advances of the Victorian period would make this kind of quite untrained involvement next to impossible.
Other Views
- Modern photograph of Wotton House from the same spot
- Plaque commemorating completion of the Victorian restoration
Related Material
Image scan and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. 2008. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Dobson, Austin, ed. The Diary of John Evelyn. Vol. II (1647-76). London: Macmillan, 1906. Facing p.69.
Last modified 18 September 2008