John Burden was the 3rd generation of Madeira Blandy’s. He lived and worked in Funchal and was famous for his skills in developing the coal bunkering business along with the Madeira Wine Lodges in Funchal.
He
bought the Palheiro Estate at public auction in 1885 and was roundly criticized
by friends and family alike for having purchased “a white elephant”. The
property was remote from Funchal.
Blandy
wasted no time in improving the grounds. He added new outhouses,
including a turbine-driven sawmill and rebuilt the reservoir on top of the estate.
He initiated the farming of cereal crops and commenced forestry. He and
his wife Margarette Faber also continued to develop the gardens.
Until
the construction of roads and the advent of vehicular transport, the men of the
family would travel to Funchal on business in the morning by ‘carro de
cesto’ (basket sledge) and return in the evening on horseback. The women
and children, however, usually stayed at home during the day except when
visiting neighbours either by hammock, palanquin or on horseback.
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