Wotton /ˈwʊtən/ is a well-wooded parish with one main settlement, a small village mostly south of the A25 between Guildford in the west and Dorking in the east.

Wotton lies in a narrow valley, collecting the headwaters of the Tilling Bourne which then has its first combined flow in the Vale of Holmesdale.

Wotton Common forming the south of the parish is elevated woodland dotted with a few vernacular-style houses and has the county's only natural waterfall.

[4][5] The English Place-Name Society volume on Surrey (published 1934) records early spellings of Wotton as Wodeton (in 1235, 1258, 1291, 1304, 1317 and 1355), Wudeton (in 1235, 1242 and 1259), Woddeton (in 1304), Woditon (1279) and Wodyton (1443); and variants such as Wodenton (1270) Wodinton (1276 and 1302), Wodynton (1355), Wodyngton (1292, 1380, 1382 and 1456) and Wodington (1324).

After the Evelyn family relinquished occupation, Wotton House was leased as a training college for the Fire Service from 1947 to 1981 and then, after being empty for nearly 13 years, was converted into a hotel and conference centre with over 100 bedrooms.

Three areas of the house remain in the original layout and architectural style, and the hotel has a building and grounds of historic importance from the 17th century.

[11] The Wotton House hotel constitutes the largest employer, with many of the farms being arable owing to the rich soil, and it caters for large weddings as well as providing business meetings.