The Castelo Church dates back to 1165, although it was only during the reign of King Sancho I that the construction of a larger Romanesque - Gothic church of Santa Maria do Castelo began, worthy of the county created in the meantime.

In the year 1165 the Parish of Our Lady of Castelo de Sesimbra was created. The current church dates from the beginning of the 18th century, 1721, as it suffered major damage over the centuries. In the 20th century, from 1955 onwards, the church lost its faithful because, in the place of Corredoura, a new church was born, much closer to the population. Thus, the Church of the Castle begins to deteriorate and is in ruins and the roof falls. With the aim of rehabilitating the church, several interventions were made between 1965 and 2001, the year in which it was opened to the public again. This reopening coincides with nine centuries of history, eight hundred years since the charter that laid the foundations for the Church of Nossa Senhora do Castelo.