Fort Regent was built on a ridge overlooking the harbour at St Hellier. Construction began on 7th November 1806 and was completed in 1814, just before the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The Fort follows the contours of Town Hill and it is a linear structure.
There is a large glacis running down towards South Hill, where a battery was later built. One the North and East sides outworks were built to provide flanking fire.
Fort Regent was built to house a garrison of eight hundred men in casemated barracks. There were a total of one hundred and twenty six gun emplacements in the Fort, including six mortars. It is unlikely that these emplacements were ever filled and figures from 1848 show a total of forty nine pieces.