Woodcote Park

Woodcote Park
Woodcote Park in an engraving by John Hassell circa 1816.
General information
Type	Mansion
Architectural style	Jacobean, Georgian.
Location	Epsom
Town or city	Surrey
Country	UK
Coordinates	51°18′55″N 0°16′33″W / 51.3152°N 0.2757°W / 51.3152; -0.2757Coordinates: 51°18′55″N 0°16′33″W / 51.3152°N 0.2757°W / 51.3152; -0.2757
Construction started	Late 17th century
Renovated	1936
Destroyed	gutted by fire 1934, restored 1936.
Landlord	Royal Automobile Club
Technical details
Structural system	Timber frame, brick, stucco.

Woodcote Park is a stately home near Epsom, Surrey, England, currently owned by the Royal Automobile Club. It was formerly the seat of a number of prominent English families, including the Calvert family, Barons Baltimore and Lords Proprietor of the colony of Maryland. The interior of the house once boasted a gilded library and number of fine murals by notable Italian artists including Antonio Verrio, but most of the historic rooms were removed by the RAC, which had purchased the house in 1913, and what remained was destroyed by fire in 1934. The present appearance of the house dates from its restoration in 1936. However, one of the original drawing rooms, noted for its excellent carved wood panelling and other decorations in the style of Thomas Chippendale, still survives in the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston, Massachusetts.

The present house was built in 1679 by Richard Evelyn, brother to John Evelyn the diarist, and is mentioned in the diary of Samuel Pepys. The Evelyns left Woodcote to Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, proprietary governor of the colony of Maryland. Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic, lost control of the province of Maryland during the "Protestant Revolution" of 1689.

In around 1712, Woodcote was described by Celia Fiennes:

In 1715 the Third Lord Baltimore died, and Woodcote Park was inherited by Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore. However he died less than two months after his father, on 16 April 1715.