Montreal was ordered from Sheerness Dockyard on 6 June 1759, one of an eleven ship class built to a design by Thomas Slade.

She had been named Montreal on 28 October 1760, and was commissioned under her first commander, Captain William Howe, in September 1761, having cost £11,503.17.11d to build, including money spent fitting her out.

[1] By 1766 Montreal was under the command of Captain Phillips Cosby, still in the Mediterranean, though she returned home in September 1767, bringing the body of the Duke of York, who had died in Monaco.

She was paid off in early 1769 and returned to Portsmouth where she was examined as a model for future ship construction by the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Master shipwright David Mearns prepared detailed sketches of the vessel, and these became the plans for the Sardinian frigate Carlo which was launched in 1770.

A small to middling repair was carried out between July 1777 and February 1778, and she recommissioned in November 1777 under Captain Stair Douglas.

[1] While in North America Douglas was court-martialled for firing a gun into a small boat during some horseplay, killing a midshipman.

Thetis succeeded, but at 9p.m., Bourgogne and Victoire caught up with Montreal, came alongside, and ordered Douglas to send over a boat.

Captain Douglas refused and attempted to sail away, but after the French had fired several broadsides into Montreal he struck.

[1][8][19] The French Revolutionary forces besieged Toulon and on 16 December 1793 the British decided to evacuate the port while destroying as much as possible of the materials that they could not take away.

Instead, the Spanish troops decided to set fire to the two powder hulks; the subsequent explosions destroyed both.