It was built in the mid-18th century by the Order of Saint John, in an area known as Ras it-Tafal, between the port of Mġarr and Xatt l-Aħmar.

The fort was meant to be the citadel of a new city which was to replace the Cittadella as the island's capital, but this plan never materialized.

[2] Fort Chambray is located on Ras it-Tafal, on high ground overlooking Mġarr Harbour.

[3] In 1716, the French military engineer Louis François d'Aubigné de Tigné prepared plans for the construction of a fortified town at Ras it-Tafal.

The Commissioners of Fortifications and War recommended constructing this proposed fort in a 1722 report, since it would be able to maintain the sea link with Malta, and would be able to take in Gozo's inhabitants and their livestock, relieving pressure from the Cittadella.

[4] In 1749, the new Governor of Gozo, Jacques-François de Chambray, informed Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca that he would pay for the construction of Tigné's proposed fort.

The Congregation of Fortifications and War accepted the offer on 15 September, and sent the military engineer Francesco Marandon to survey the site.

[6] Excavation of the ditches and the initial stages of construction were largely complete by June 1752, and work on the fort proper began in October of the same year.

[7] Once the fort was built, a rectilinear street pattern was laid out so the town could be constructed within the walls, as had been originally planned by Tigné.

However, the plots were not purchased and the town never developed,[4] mainly because the threat from the Ottoman Empire or the Barbary pirates had subsided, so Gozitans felt safe living in rural areas.

On 3 September, a day after the Maltese uprising began in Mdina, the Gozitans revolted against the French, and quickly took over the island except for Fort Chambray and the Cittadella.

It was used as a Convalescent Depot during World War I, and thousands of ill or wounded patients passed through the hospital between October 1915 and its closure in March 1916.

[25][26] They are protected by a ditch[27] and the following outworks: The fort's western flank, overlooking Xatt l-Aħmar, mainly consists of a curtain wall which was originally protected by a ditch,[32] and the Guardian Angel Bastion, a pentagonal bastion at the southernmost part of the fort.