early 1760s. The fort quickly fell into disrepair, being described as a ruin in 1789. Some minor repair works were carried out in 1796. The site was used as a temporarily prison by the law enforcers. 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, mainly because the threat from the Ottoman Empire or the Barbary pirates had subsided, so Gozitans felt safe living in rural areas. Plans for its development drawn in 1750s show that there had to be a militarized Baroque town with a grid plan, similar to Valletta, and residences were to include their own private gardens. A large space in the middle was intended to be a piazza, surrounded by the main buildings. The buildings at the piazza were to include the main church, a courthouse and the residence of the Castellan. These buildings were to have a shared symmetrical late Baroque portico, and a place d’armes was to be in the whereabouts. A number of farmhouses were built inside and outside the fort. French invasion and occupation Fort Chambray saw its first use during the French invasion of Malta in June 1798. When the French landed on Gozo, many inhabitants took refuge within Chambray, bringing their livestock with them. At the time, the fort was commanded by the knight de Megrigny, and it was armed with 72 pieces of artillery. The fort initially offered some resistance, but it capitulated after the French General Jean Reynier posted three companies in front of the fort, and issued a proclamation ordering its garrison to surrender. The Gozitans who had taken refuge returned to their homes with their cattle. Following its capture, Fort Chambray was manned by a French garrison. 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. On 28 October 1798, Gozitan rebels led by Saverio Cassar and British marines led by Captain Cresswell attacked the fort, and it capitulated on the following day. Other, probably more reliable, sources says that Fort Chambray was abandoned by French soldiers during the night of 16 and 17 September. British rule Malta and Gozo came under British rule