Fort Berkeley was built on the rocky peninsular to guard the entrance to the west of English Harbour. Just before 1704 a small square redoubt was built here, with a line of guns added. In 1745 it was reinforced and a guard hut built at the end of the fort’s peninsular. It served as a crucial part of the island defence system with a frontal defence line of musketry and 25 cannons, each firing a 24lb iron shot and requiring a crew of 13 men to work each gun.
The fort was also used as a quarantine station for ships arriving with fever on board. The powder magazine, the guardhouse and the crenelated defence walls survive to this day.
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