[4][5] HMS Unicorn was built in peacetime at Chatham Dockyard, Kent and launched in 1824 This was a transitional period for shipbuilding, as suitable timber was becoming more difficult to obtain, and iron was increasingly available.

Her lack of sea service meant that her hull remained in good condition and in 1873 was selected to be a drill ship for the Royal Naval Reserve at Dundee to replace HMS Brilliant (1814).

[8] In 1962, Unicorn's original berth in the Earl Grey Dock was filled-in for the new Tay Road Bridge and she was moved downstream accordingly, surviving a proposal to have her scrapped after the intervention of her former captain.

In 1967, a new shore establishment for the Tay Division reservists was opened, and the ship's future was again brought into question, resulting in the creation of the Unicorn Preservation Society, led by Lord Dalhousie.

[7][10][11] In April 2019 the Unicorn Preservation Society, whose patron is Anne, Princess Royal, received a National Lottery Resilient Heritage Fund Grant in the amount of £28,900.

The Unicorn Preservation Society was seeking gifts of large oaks to replace the planking and strengthen the hull before moving the ship to dry dock.