The convent appears to have been founded sometime between 1710 and 1713 (it is known to be in existence in 1730),[1] by members of the Carmelite order of nuns, who fostered and educated abandoned girls.

[5] In 1876, after church-state relations had been more or less normalized, the convent was re-opened as a girls' school by a number of Third Order Dominican Sisters (or non-cloistered nuns).

[6] (While the law still forbade cloistered convents, “third order” institutions – including schools – under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical dioceses were allowed.

[8] After the founding of the Portuguese First Republic in 1910, there was a formal separation of church and state under which the state took over all educational functions; the Convent was closed and the building came into the hands of the Comissão Jurisdicional dos Bens das Extintas Congregações Religiosas (Legal Commission for the Assets of Extinct Religious Congregations).

[12] Part of the old building was appropriated by the civil parish authority of Lagoa e Carvoeiro where it continues to operate.

Built originally of limestone with lime mortar,[13] the convent has been altered many times since its construction.

The original entrance to the convent was to the left of the tower (with a vestibule and parlor as well as the baby wheel); this area now houses the civil parish offices.