Casa de Villar d'Allen (Porto)

 mansion / manor house / villa, cultural heritage / national heritage, Eclectic (architecture), Neoclassical (architecture), 19th century construction

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The current Quinta de Villar D'Allen resulted from the merging of some old farms purchased in 1839 by John Allen, English merchant, ancestor of the current owners. In 1869, Alfredo Amsinck Allen, son of John Allen, joined two adjacent farms.
Alfredo Amsinck Allen, professional oenologist but farmer and gardener by passion, brought to Portugal numerous exotic plants that were naturalized in Villar d'Allen before providing them to his friends and relatives. He dedicated himself enthusiastically to the collection of camellias, creating new hybrids and offering hundreds of copies to the parks of Bom Jesus and Buçaco.
Besides a large collection of camellias, Villar D'Allen is also well known by its characteristic gardens: a “French style” formal garden on the south west side, built in 1790 by Manuel Simões; in the north and east side of the main house, there is a Parterre built by John Allen, showing its enthusiasm for “landscape gardens”, an English fashion by the time. Seeking an imitation of nature, this garden shows no formality, without any straight lines, sinuous trail of flower beds around the house to the surrounding dense forest.