From the initial founding of Funchal, the island of Madeira was peppered with small settlements along the coasts near access to the sea. The settlement that would later take on the name of Santa Maria Maior developed spontaneously from the first homes constructed in 1425. This agglomeration extended from Ribeira do João Gomes until Corpo Santo, along the beachfront, and concentrated around a small temple constructed to the invocation of Santa Maria, or Santa Maria do Calhau as it was briefly known. Santa Maria do Calhau, constructed in 1430, served the congregations east of the bay of Funchal, and was also known as "Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Baixo" (), or simply "Santa Maria Maior". The chapel was the seat of the parish of Santa Maria Maior until 1508, when the Church of the Sé Catedral was completed, and the parishioners were obligated to transfer there for services. Santa Maria Maior was the first parish to be instituted in Funchal. Its name was given, as some historians believe, because it was constructed in larger proportions than the chapel consecrated in the name of "Nossa Senhora da Conceição" ordered built by João Gonçalves Zarco (on the present site of the Church of Santa Clara). Zarco's chapel was known as "Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Cima" (meaning, geographically, "top" for its location), in opposition to Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Baixo (which means "bottom"), but referred to as "Nossa Senhora do Calhau", because it was built on the coast ("calhau" is Portuguese for "rock-covered beaches", typical of the Azores and Madeira).