It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1731 and 1732 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands.

The battery was named after Saint Anthony, as it was built during the reign of António Manoel de Vilhena.

There is a free-standing redan that has thick walls and musketry loopholes to prevent a landward attack.

In the 1990s the battery was at the centre of judicial controversy when Magistrate Carol Michael Peralta attempted to give the property to an unspecified third person that claimed to be the owner, potentially to then sell it to him.

[4] Since 2007, the battery is being restored by Din l-Art Ħelwa in conjunction with the Qala Local Council and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA).