She and her sister ship the Orlando were the longest wooden warships built for the Royal Navy.

She was heavily armed, and in comparison to many of her counterparts was quite fast with an approximate speed of 12½ knots, achieving 13½ on trials.

The longest of these ships, the Mersey-class frigates, were unsuccessful, and one, HMS Orlando, showed signs of structural failure after an 1863 voyage to the United States.

Both the Mersey-class frigates and the largest of the wooden battleships, the 121-gun Victoria class, required internal iron strapping to support the hull, as did many other ships of this kind.

Although only 335 feet long, they suffered from the strain of their length, proving too weak to face a ship of the line in close quarters.