Evelyn's garden under threat from development
17 November 2011
A campaign has begun to save the site where 17th century garden designer and diarist John Evelyn created one of the most famous and celebrated gardens of his age.
Evelyn's former house at Sayes Court and its 25-hectare (62-acre) estate lay on the banks of the Thames in what is now Deptford, east London, and was once visited by royalty including King Charles II and Tsar Peter of Russia. It fell into neglect after Evelyn's death in 1706, and was eventually sold to the Admiralty to become part of the dockyard. A previous attempt by one of John Evelyn's descendants to buy back the land eventually led to the foundation of the National Trust, although too late to save Sayes Court.
Nothing now remains of the once magnificent gardens except the western edge, currently a public park, and the current owners of the land have applied for planning permission to build houses, retail and office space over what were once the garden's central features, destroying all chance of excavating the site.
However campaign organisers Roo Angell and Bob Bagley argue enough documentary evidence survives, not least from the meticulous records kept by John Evelyn himself, to restore at least part of Sayes Court Gardens. They are calling for the site to be kept as an open 'common', under the management of the local community, saying it would not only bring benefits to residents of the new housing development but also save what they say is 'a crucial piece of our national heritage'.