The Seagull class were built as a class of thirteen 16-gun brig-sloops for the Royal Navy, although an extra 2 carronades were added soon after completion.

The class was designed by one of the Surveyors of the Navy - Sir William Rule - and approved on 4 January 1805.

Five vessels to this design were ordered in December 1804; eight more were ordered in the summer of 1805.

Unlike the larger Cruizer-class brig-sloops, whose main battery was composed of 32-pounder carronades, the Seagull class (and the similar Fly-class brig-sloops designed by Rule's co-surveyor - Sir John Henslow) were armed with a main battery of 24-pounder slide-mounted carronades.