Five ships and one

shore establishment A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

have been named HMS ''President'', after the office of

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

meaning "one who presides over an assembly". In the case of the first two British ships, the name may have applied to the Lord President of the Privy Council. This ship-name lapsed from 1660 to 1806, when it was revived by the capture of the , and then perpetuated by the 1815 capture of the American super-frigate . These captures were commemorated by a new *, which survived from 1829 till 1903, and which passed the name to a series of ''President''s of which three survive to this day. * HMS ''President'' (1646) was a 26-gun ship purchased in 1646, known as ''Old President'' after 1650, and sold in 1656. * was a 42-gun

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

ship launched in 1650, renamed ''Bonaventure'' in 1660, rebuilt 1666, and broken up 1711. * HMS ''President'' (1806) was a 38-gun

fifth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

, originally the French , captured in 1806, renamed ''Piedmontaise'' in 1815 and broken up the same year. * HMS ''President'' (1815) was a 44-gun fifth rate, originally the American frigate , captured in 1815 and broken up June 1818. * was a 52-gun

launched in 1829, used as a drill ship of the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

after 1862 and sold in 1903. She was briefly known as ''Old President'' for part of 1903. * is the home of the London Division of the

. It has been a shore establishment near

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

overlooking the entrance to

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

since 1988. Ships that have been previously renamed HMS ''President'' whilst serving as the home of the London Division of the

include: ** , an

screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's ''screws'' (propelle ...

, launched in 1878 and renamed HMS ''President'' in 1903. She was sold in 1911, but survived to be displayed in

Chatham Historic Dockyard The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, South East England. Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km²) and was one of the Royal Navy's main facilit ...

. ** , a screw sloop launched in 1887 and renamed HMS ''President'' in 1911. She was lent away in 1919 and sold in 1921. ** HMS ''Marjoram'', an sloop was to have been the next HMS ''President'', but she was wrecked before she could be refitted. ** HMS ''Saxifrage'', an ''Anchusa''-class sloop launched in 1918 instead became HMS ''President'' in 1921, serving as such until 1988. She is now permanently berthed in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

on the Victoria Embankment.

Battle honours

* Portland 1653 * Gabbard 1653 * Scheveningen 1653 *Java 1811 *San Sebastian 1813.

Battle honours

See also