Sir Edward Evelyn, 1st Baronet DL (25 January 1626 – 3 May 1692) was an English

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

Member of Parliament who served in a number of local offices in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and found favour under

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

. Removed from several local offices at the close of the latter's reign, he was largely replaced in them by

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

and appointed a

gentleman of the privy chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

. He died a few years later, dividing his property among the three daughters who survived him.

Early life and family

Evelyn was the fifth son of Sir Thomas Evelyn (d. 1659) and his wife Anne Gold, the daughter of a London

Grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...

. From his parents, he inherited the two manors of

Long Ditton Long Ditton is a residential suburb in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. In medieval times it was a village, occupying a narrow strip of land. Neighbouring settlem ...

, and the manors of Talworth and

Claygate Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Surrounded by green belt, it lies inside the Greater London Built-up Area. Claygate was once in t ...

, Surrey. He was apprenticed to a grocer in 1643, and paid a small fine in 1651 for 'delinquency' during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. His four elder brothers having died in his father's lifetime, he succeeded his father in 1659. On 15 September of that year, he married Mary Balam (d. 1696), by whom he had three son and six daughters: *Ann Evelyn (26 March 1661 – 1685), married William Hill of Teddington in 1682 and had issue *Mary Evelyn (b. 14 July 1662), married

Sir William Glynne, 2nd Baronet Sir William Glynne, 2nd Baronet (17 May 1663 – 3 September 1721) was a Welsh lawyer and politician. The elder son of Sir William Glynne, 1st Baronet (whom he succeeded in 1690), he was educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was a Gentleman o ...

, in 1688 *George Evelyn (1663 – 13 September 1685) *Jane Evelyn (b. and d. January 1665) *Edward Evelyn (12 June 1667 – August 1669) *Elizabeth Evelyn (1668/9 – September 1669) *Charles Evelyn (15 August 1670 – October 1670) *Penelope Evelyn (3 October 1672 – June 1714), married Sir Joseph Alston, 3rd Baronet, in 1690 and had issue *Sophia Evelyn (1 March 1676 – 8 January 1739), married

Sir Stephen Glynne, 3rd Baronet The Glynne Baronetcy, of Bicester in the County of Oxford, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 20 May 1661 for William Glynne, the former Member of Parliament for Carnarvon. He was the son of Sir John Glynne, Lord Ch ...

, after 1692 and had issue

Political activity

He was proposed to be a

Knight of the Royal Oak The Knights of the Royal Oak was an intended order of chivalry in England. It was proposed in 1660 at the time of the restoration of Charles II of England to be a reward for those Englishmen who had faithfully and actively supported Charles dur ...

at the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

, enjoying at the time an income of £600 per year. In March 1660, he was named to the

commission of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Surrey, and in September a commissioner for assessment, an office he held until 1680. He was also appointed as a Surrey

commissioner for loyal and indigent officers The Commissioners for loyal and indigent officers were a body formed by a 1662 Act of the Parliament of England (14 Car. 2 c. 8) to provide relief to impoverished Royalist officers who had served in the English Civil War. After the English Resto ...

in 1662 and to the commission on

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

s in 1675. His cousin

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...

described him in 1685 as "an honest gentleman, much in favour with his Majesty", and marks of the royal favour were apparent: Edward was knighted at

Worcester Park Worcester Park is a suburban town in South London, South West London, England. It lies in the Boroughs of London, London boroughs of London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston, Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Ep ...

, Surrey, on 13 September 1676, created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 13 February 1683 and made a deputy lieutenant of the county in the same year. In 1685, Evelyn stood for Parliament for

with Sir Adam Browne as a Court or Tory candidate, against the Whig incumbents, his cousin George Evelyn and

Arthur Onslow Arthur Onslow (1 October 169117 February 1768) was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity. Early life and educati ...

. While the Whigs seemed likely to prevail, the

Sheriff of Surrey The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066. At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex (1229–1231, 1232–1240, 1242–1567, 1571–1635). 1066–1228 (High Sheriffs of Surrey only) 1229– ...

, Samuel Lewin, as

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral c ...

, had the election adjourned to the small village of

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

. An afternoon storm forced many of the Whig electors to take shelter in the surrounding countryside, due to the lack of accommodations in the village, expecting the election to be held the next morning. When they were gone, the Sheriff suddenly called for a poll and returned Sir Edward and Sir Adam. During this year, Evelyn was also named an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

Kingston-on-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, which had surrendered its old charter and was granted a new one in August. Sir Edward served on four minor committees during the

Loyal Parliament Loyal may refer to: * Loyalty Music * ''Loyal'' (album), by Dave Dobbyn, 1988 ** "Loyal" (Dave Dobbyn song) * '' The Loyal'', an album by Tiger Lou, 2005 * "Loyal" (Chris Brown song), 2013 * "Loyal" (PartyNextDoor song), 2019 * "Loyal", a son ...

. He probably fell out with James II over religious policy, as he was removed from the Kingston corporation, the commission of the peace, and his deputy lieutenancy in the spring of 1688. In October 1688, on the eve of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, he was restored to his deputy lieutenancy, but quickly accepted the new regime. Under William and Mary, he was reappointed to the commission of the peace in November 1688 and the commission for assessment in the same year, and was further honoured with an appointment as a

. Though restored to most of his offices, he did not stand for Parliament again.

Death

Evelyn died suddenly on 3 May 1692 and was buried at Long Ditton. He left his lands and manors to his wife for life, to be divided after her death among his surviving daughters: the manors of Long Ditton to Penelope, Talworth to Mary, and Claygate to Sophia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evelyn, Edward, 1st Baronet 1626 births 1692 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1685–1687 Tory MPs (pre-1834) People from Long Ditton