This is a list of ships of the line of the Royal Navy of England, and later (from 1707) of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom.
The list starts from 1660, the year in which the Royal Navy came into being after the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, up until the emergence of the battleship around 1880, as defined by the Admiralty.
The process, which generally involved the dismantling in dry dock of the old ship and constructing it to a new design incorporating part of the materials from the old vessel, produced what were in effect substantially new ships with altered dimensions and sizes, and generally mounting a somewhat larger number of guns.
Two ships of 74 guns were ordered in January 1748 from Chatham and Woolwich Dockyards, but with the end of the War of Austrian Succession both were cancelled in 1748.
By or soon after the appointment of Baron George Anson as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1751, the system of establishments that covered the design of British warships was abandoned, and with the appointment of Thomas Slade and William Bately as joint holders of the post of Surveyor of the Navy in 1755, new principles governed the composition of the battle fleet.
Captain Symonds was a naval officer and yacht designer, "who had risen to prominence by his success in competitive sailing trials between small warships.
His ships were designed to be faster under sail, and have more room for the gunners to work the guns (improving ergonomics).
To achieve this, his ships were larger, and used a different hull form to provide stability without needing large amounts of ballast.
Symonds' designs had more stability than was desirable, with the result that they rolled excessively and therefore were poor gun platforms.
[26][27] Symonds worked very closely with John Edye, an experienced and well-educated shipwright officer.