Fort Barrington, also known as the Cripplegate Battery or the Queen’s Battery, has a long military history. The first fortifications were built in the 17th century as St. John’s town became the island’s major port. It appears on a list of fortifications in the Minute Books of the Antigua Assembly in 1704. This fort was abandoned at the end of Queen Anne’s War (1704-1713), even though it protected the harbour entrance and the anchorage outside.

Instead of strengthening the fort, the colonial government focused their efforts on Fort James across the harbour. It was only in the 1770s because of French privateering that the planters realized that Fort James was in the wrong position and could not protect the vessels riding at anchor. With design advice from the Royal Engineers, they started Fort Barrington as a self-contained half-moon fortification, complete with guard house, gunpowder magazine, and offsite barracks structure. From this vantage point, the gunners at Fort Barrington could command St. John’s Harbour and the anchorage.

The fortification continued to be used into the 19th century, shifting roles from being a fortification to a signaling station. The site was briefly revived as a military site in 1917 when Royal Marines installed a quick firing Royal Navy gun—one of fourteen the British government issued to protect all of their Caribbean islands.

Fort Barrington National Park was declared in 2009 to include the fortification, a small Amerindian site, and the remains of the Andes shipwreck inside Deep Bay which are all visible today.