Since 1652

The Symington Family are descended from Andrew James Symington and Beatrice Atkinson who married in Oporto in 1891. Andrew James arrived as a young man from Scotland in 1882. Beatrice was descended from John Atkinson who had lived in Oporto since 1814; both her father and her uncle were Port producers. On her mother’s side, Maria José de Sousa e Barros Leitão de Carvalhosa, Beatrice Atkinson was a direct descendent of 17th century Port producer Walter Maynard who had married Leonor da Silva Moura from Oporto.

Walter Maynard was English Consul in Oporto in 1659 as well as being one of the very first Port merchants. He is recorded in the archives in the city of Oporto as shipping 39 Pipes of Port in 1652. This is the second oldest shipment of Port (by one year) ever made by a British merchant and pre-dates the foundation date of any British Port company and the famous Methuen Treaty of 1703.