Sir John Evelyn, 1st Baronet (1 March 1682 – July 1763) of Wotton,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, was a British official and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1708 to 1710. His grandfather, the diarist

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 m ...

, influenced his independent attitude in politics and stimulated his dedication to literature. His public offices included Postmaster-general from 1708 to 1715.

Early life

Evelyn was born on 1 March 1682 at Sayes Court in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, the second but only surviving son of John Evelyn the Younger,

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

and Commissioner of the Revenue, and his wife, Martha Spencer, daughter and co-heir of Richard Spencer. He was baptised the following day.

Cokayne, George Edward George Edward Cokayne, (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911), was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standar ...

(1906)
Complete Baronetage
'. Volume V. Exeter: W. Pollard & Co. . p. 17 He was educated at the French school at Greenwich in 1689, at Kings Street under Mr Arbuthnot in 1691 and at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

from 1692 to 1698. He matriculated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, on 25 February 1699, aged 16. His father died in 1699, leaving him heir apparent to the Wotton estate.

Career

Evelyn came under the patronage of Sidney Godolphin, Lord Treasurer, a close family friend who helped him to government places. He was appointed Receiver of stamp duties in 1703, and Commissioner for prizes in 1705. He married Godolphin's niece on 18 September 1705, at

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

. She was Anne Boscowen, eldest daughter of Edward Boscawen of Cornwall and his wife Jael Godolphin, the daughter of Sir Francis Godolphin. Evelyn succeeded his grandfather, the diarist

, to Wotton on 27 February 1706. In August 1708 he surrendered his two government places when he was appointed joint

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

which he held until 1715. Evelyn had been advised by his grandfather, that if he sought electoral success, to do so 'without affectation and vainglory .. or the being carried away by a faction or to serve a party'. His politics were therefore difficult to pin down. In 1705, he led his family's tenants to vote for the Tory in protest against the corruption of the Whig financier Sir William Scawen. He was returned as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map ...

which was dominated by his Whig patron Godolphin, at a by election on 15 December 1708. He supported the Whigs over the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709, and then voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He did not stand at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junt ...

but managed to keep his office under the new ministry. He tended to show local support for the Tories. On 6 August 1713, he was 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 14t ...

of Wotton in the

County of 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 Are ...

in the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

. After the Whig Administration came to power in 1715 he lost his place at the Post Office within a few months. In December 1717 he stood for Parliament again at a by-election for

, but was unsuccessful against the Onslow interest. In 1721 he regained ministerial favour from Walpole and was appointed Commissioner of Customs, which he held until 1763. Evelyn dedicated much of his time to improving the Wootton estate and to scholarly studies. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in January 1723. At Wootton House, he built a private library, 45 feet long, to house the collection of books accumulated over three generations.

Death and legacy

Evelyn and his wife had six sons of whom three survived and three daughter of whom two survived. His wife died, aged 67, in 1752 and was buried at Wotton on 24 January 1752. Evelyn died on 15 or 18 July 1763, and was buried at Wotton on 22 July. He was succeeded by his eldest son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

. His son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was also MP for Helston and raised a monument to his parents.

Early life

Career

Death and legacy

Notes

References

Further reading