Place Name
Charlwood in Surrey was one of the estates originally purchased by Henry Wise, a local 18thCentury landowner and royal gardener, and that remained in the family until the late 19thCentury. Serving the successive monarchs William III, Queen Anne, and George , Wise managed to build a fortune and establish himself as a country squire when he retired in 1727. His celebrity status was secured when he wrote a best selling gardening book, which was even translated into French. This and several surrounding roads were initially laid out as gardens that Wise designed after buying several fields in Pimlico in 1713. By the the mid-19th Century the land had become so valuable that they were developed into streets which were named after the family’s Surrey and Warwickshire estates. He purchased Charlwood manor sometime around 1716 and it remained in the family until 1884. The Grade II* listed Henry Wise House is nearby.
