In the few years that he owned the factory, Afonso faced financial problems and between 1861 and 1863 he sold it to an Englishman, John Stott Howorth.

With the new techniques that Howorth was able to introduce from the United Kingdom, the factory expanded rapidly, producing earthenware based on kaolin.

In the last years of his life, King-consort Fernando II painted several ceramic pieces in the factory and became good friends with Howorth.

At this time the council of Loures decided to build the museum on the old site of the factory in order to preserve its history.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the artist Jorge Colaço collaborated with the company to produce azulejo tiles for several of his most significant commissions, including the vestibule of the São Bento railway station in Porto (1903), the Buçaco Palace hotel (1907), and the Carlos Lopes Pavilion in Lisbon, which was originally constructed for the Independence Centenary International Exposition in Rio de Janeiro in 1922 and then rebuilt in Lisbon.

Made of brick, it is reinforced externally by iron bands and has ten furnaces fuelled by wood or coal.