the gardens of vvarley place. 
45 
old buildings still remain. The house contains a wealth 
of beautiful things, bearing witness to the fact that the owner 
by no means confines her attention to her flowers alone. The 
botanical and horticultural library would appeal forcibly to the 
members of the Essex Field Club. Few ancient or modern 
works upon plants or horticulture are absent from this collection. 
Warley Place was at one time the property of the Evelyn 
family, having been purchased by John Evelyn the diarist, in 
1649. He sold it in 1655, on account of the imposition of high 
taxes on Essex property during the Commonwealth. John 
Evelyn first laid out the gardens and planted the Chestnuts and 
Walnuts which still cast a welcome shade upon the lawns. 3 
The immemorable existence of the English Lent Lily at 
Warley gave promise of a good daffodil soil, and in early spring 
the gentle lines of the park scenery are rendered more beautiful 
by the golden colour of Daffodils relieving the monotony of the 
grasslands. The selection of the variety which groups most 
effectively in the situations has produced a remarkable effect. 
We find in one situation large and irregular masses of Narcissus 
varieformis, pallidus, and praecox, which in unbroken sunlight 
afford unequalled quality of glistening prettiness. The 
starry Narcissus (incomparabilis) against a dark background 
affords ample illustration of the scenic value of these flowers. 
There are few known species which may not be seen in due season 
either in this dell, consecrated to the daffodil family, or in nooks 
of the Alpine Garden and other spots which happen to suit special 
kinds. Many are of great rarity and beauty, which are hardly 
found in other gardens. 
At the present time Miss Willmott’s name is especially 
associated with the genus Rosa. For many years she has made 
a special study of the rose, and has collected wild roses and ancient 
types of roses from all quarters of the globe. Her book upon 
3 John Evelyn purchased Warley Place and part of the manor of Great Warley of his 
wife’s cousins, the Flemmings, who inherited the property from Ann Flemming, daughter 
and co-heir of Benj. Gonson, to whose ancestors Great Warley Manor was granted, 
when Barking Abbey was suppressed. (See Evelyn’s Diary, Morant’s Hist, of Essex, 
vol. i., p. hi, Wright’s Essex, vol. i., p. 530, Foljambe’s Evelyn Pedigrees and Memoranda,, 
and other writers.) The Flemmings continued to reside at Warley Place after it was pur¬ 
chased by Evelyn, the latter residing at Sayes Court a few miles distant, which he also 
acquired from the family of his wife. He interested himself in gardening at this period, and 
doubtless frequently visited his wife’s relations at Warley Place. In 1655 he sold Warley 
Place to John Hart. In 1664 Sir Eustace Hart married Jane Evelyn, a relative of the diarist. 
It would appear likely, therefore, that Evelyn’s interest in this property continued after he 
had sold it. Miss Willmott tells the writer that a contemporary author refers to a visit to 
Warley Place when John Evelyn was laying out the gardens, and that a letter from John 
Evelyn exists which is dated from Warley Place. John Evelyn’s wife w'as a direct descendant 
of the Gonsons, who owned Warley Place for so long. 
