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The creation of the Palheiro Estate |
The creation of the Palheiro estate was started in 1801 by the 1st
Conde de Carvalhal, João Esmeraldo and set in the beautiful parkland of
Palheiro Ferreiro. The house’s main purpose was a hunting lodge and
summer residence. The Conde had water brought in by levada (waterway)
from near Pico Ariero (second highest peak on the island) some 11 miles
away to a small reservoir. He enlisted the help of a French landscape
gardener in the laying out of the Quinta. His hand is evident in the
width and spaciousness of the avenues he planned, the principal one of
which – the plane tree avenue stretching down from the hunting lodge
has no less than 100 trees on each side. There were orchards also
planted to the north of the house.
The Conde used to employ more than 200 men on the estate for the
purpose of keeping it in order. He was reputed to have been a kind
landlord and was much respected throughout the whole of the island.
The Conde also imported specimen trees from all over the world.
Tradition has it that the Conde was given many rare tree specimens by
Dom JoãoV1 (John the Runaway) and masters of sailing ships at the time
of commencement of the Quinta.
The Condes used to keep horses on the estate, their stables used to be
in the middle of the circle of plane trees which you can still see
today to the north of the swimming pool. There was also a deer park and
other animals were kept in fenced enclosures.
The Condes exercised their carriage horses at the Pico do Cavalo, above
the plane tree avenue. Another favourite ride was to the folly or
`mirante´ on the way to Balancal through the pine woods which was
reached by a road winding round up to the hilltop.
On both these roads some of the stone seats which were covered in blue
and white tiles of which vestiges still remain can still be seen today.
In the 1820s in order to make the house more habitable, 2 new wings
were added. Down in the basement of the house were storage rooms with
floors made of beaten earth which helped create ideal conditions for
the storage of fruit.
The ground floor with its living rooms was enriched with decorative ceilings and frescos of flora motifs on the walls.
The entrance was painted with friezes of acorn branches, the Conde’s
emblem. The lateral walls in the hall could be opened to transform the
whole of the ground floor into a spacious ballroom.
A folly was constructed on a hill above the Quinta; this is an
octagonal temple of neo-classical design and has been adapted today as
the Palheiro Estate emblem. It has remained as a `ruin´ since the
count’s time when ladies and gentlemen used to socialize there after
the hunt. It is said that local lovers used the temple as a meeting
place!
At about this time the Conde also had built a chapel in simple baroque
style, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. On the feast of its Patron
Saint all the employees on the estate used to gather there and deck the
old building with flowers, recite the Rosary and pray that their
Patrons may live another year to spread happiness amongst them. But in
those bygone days, things were different and the last of the Carvalhals
would sit at his dining-room window some thirty yards away and watch
the priest through the open door of the chapel reading mass. It was so
much more comfortable and comme il faut.
´The house and the chapel and the mysterious pathway leading between
the camellia trees it was said, had their own visitor from another
sphere! The last lady of the Carvalhals came back to her old home and
wandered around her garden and disappeared through the chapel doors and
was never seen to leave…´
An Englishman who visited the Quinta on 13th January 1826 wrote, “the
house is modest in size as well as in architecture, but elegant and
comfortable and the gardens that surround it are rich in plants and
flowers. The camellias are the principal ornament producing red and
white flowers which rival the rose in form and colour but do not have
the beautiful scent of them."
To learn more about the history of the Palheiro Estate choose a link below:
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