Earlier Houses: There was at least on earlier house on the site of the 17th century house.

House & Family History: John Evelyn (born at Wotton House, near Dorking, Surrey, on October 31, 1620; died at Wotton in 1706) lived at Sayes Court from 1652 until 1694, when he moved to his family's ancestral home at Wotton (the Sayes Estate was held by Evelyn's wife's family on a long-term lease from the crown). Evelyn was a famous diarist and one of the principal literary sources of the life and manners of 17th century England. He wrote about architecture, art, fashion, agriculture, and pollution. Evelyn's most noted work is "Silva: or a Discourse of Forest-Trees, and the Propagation of Timber," the first important work on conservation, published at a time when England's forests were being stripped of timber to build ships for the burgeoning Royal Navy. A friend of Charles II, Evelyn was a very cosmopolitan and sophisticated man who traveled in an influential circle that included Samuel Pepys, the 3rd Earl of Burlington, and Christopher Wren. He was a founder of The Royal Society and one of the prime movers in the creation of the Chelsea and Greenwich Hospitals. During Evelyn's occupation Sayes Court became one of the great houses of 17th century England. He gathered round him the most learned men of the day, giving splendid parties where erudite discussions took place among one of the most magnificent gardens of the age. There is today in the collection of the British Library a plan of Sayes Court house and garden drawn by Evelyn himself. The drawings show in detail the renovations to the house and outbuildings and the new garden layout of the parterre, the grove, and orchard designed and carried out by Evelyn. The famous firm of Crabtree & Evelyn, founded in 1973 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was named in honor of John Evelyn for his work in conservation and gardening. In 1698, when the man who would later become Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, visited England he stayed at Sayes Court (then leased by Evelyn to Admiral Benbow). The future tsar and his party were extremely rough on the house and gardens, leaving both in a virtual ruin; doors were removed and burned, walls and floors were covered in grease, and Evelyn's collection of paintings had been used for pistol practice. The British treasury paid Evelyn £350 as compensation for the damage, but, even in 1698, this was a small sum (equivalent to approximately £729,000 in 2016 inflation-adjusted values using the labour value commodity index) in comparison to the damage to the house and grounds. Sayes Court itself was demolished in the early 20th century (there are apartment buildings in its place). There is a public municipal park today on part of what once was the magnificent garden of Sayes Court.

Garden & Outbuildings: Inspired by Italian and French ideas, John Evelyn created at Sayes Court one of the most influential and magnificent gardens of the age. The estate was noted for its large expanses of elm trees and its great parterre.

House Listed: Demolished

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSES: Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey, 16th century. Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 16th century. Sir Richard Browne, 1st Bt., 17th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: John Evelyn, 1652-94. Admiral John Benbow, late 17th century. James Paine, late 18th century.

Current Ownership Type: Government

Primary Current Ownership Use: Public Park

House Open to Public: No

Historic Houses Member: No