The church was founded in the Saxon period, but only partial foundations remain from that period. The tower and chancel are Norman, and the rest is 13th century, with one notable exception; to the north side of the north aisle is the red-brick Evelyn Chapel, burial place of generations of Evelyns from Wotton House. The most famous burial within the chapel is that of diarist John Evelyn, who died in 1706. Evelyn himself probably planted some of the large trees that ring the leafy churchyard. Within the churchyard are several curious 'bedhead' tombs, and the memorial to Evelyn's nephew William Glanville, marked by an urn of white marble.