The Convent of Mafra, ordered to be built by King John V in the 18th century, was for decades one of the largest Franciscan convents on the Iberian Peninsula, housing hundreds of friars. Beyond the life of prayer and study, there were moments of fellowship among the friars, including the habit of playing ball.
In his Sacred Monument (1751), Friar João de São José do Prado describes the conventual Orchard of Mafra, currently called the Garden of the Enclosure, as a large kitchen garden with orange and fruit orchards, streets of agave trellises and large garden plots that produced vegetables for the Convent, worked by twelve gardeners under the guidance of a religious brother.
The conventual Orchard also had an area dedicated to the Ball Game, also known as the Game of Souls, where the friars practiced games such as Ball, Little Orange and Hoop. From the playing area, the stone benches that allowed spectators
