President was a 38-gun fourth rate frigate of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England

Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...

 by Peter Pett I at Deptford Dockyard, and launched in 1650.

After the Restoration in 1660, she was renamed HMS Bonaventure after a previous ship

HMS Bonaventure (1621)

Bonaventure was a middling ship of the English Royal Navy, built by Andrew Burrell at Deptford and launched in 1621.Bonaventure was blown up in action in 1653....

 which had been blown up three years after she was built in 1653. She was widened in 1663, and by 1677 her armament had been increased to 48 guns. In 1683 she underwent her first rebuild, relaunching as a 40-gun fourth rate ship of the line. Bonaventure was rebuilt a second time in 1699 at Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....

, relaunching as a fourth rate of between 46 and 54 guns. Her third rebuild took place at Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

, where she was rebuilt as a 50-gun fourth rate to the 1706 Establishment

1706 Establishment

The 1706 Establishment was the first formal establishment of dimensions for ships built for the Royal Navy. Two previous sets of dimensions had been established, though only for particular shipbuilding programmes; the 1706 Establishment was intended to be permanent.-Origins:Dimensions for ships had...

, relaunching on 19 September 1711. She was renamed HMS Argyll prior to the Jacobite Rising

Jacobite rising

The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...

 in 1715, and on 27 January 1720 she was ordered to be taken to pieces at Woolwich

Woolwich

Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

 for what was to be her final rebuild. She was relaunched as a 50-gun fourth rate to the 1719 Establishment

1719 Establishment

The 1719 Establishment was the first formal 'Establishment' laid down to govern the construction of all ships built or rebuilt down to those of 20 carriage guns, whether in the Royal Dockyards or by commercial contractors...

 on 5 July 1722, and saw much service in home and Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 waters. She was employed on blockade duties during the War of the Austrian Succession

War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession  – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...

, and in 1741 Argyll captured five Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 coasters, and with the assistance of two other warships cut free five captured British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

 warships that were docked in north-western Spain.

In 1745 she returned to Britain by way of escorting a convoy and was paid off in 1746. After the conclusion of the war in 1748, Argyll was towed to Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

and scuttled as part of a breakwater.