Stone frigate
"
Stone frigate" is a nickname for a naval establishment on land. The term has its origin in Britain's
Royal Navy, which until the late
19th century housed training and other support facilities in hulks — old wooden
ships of the line — moored in ports as
receiving ships,
depot ships, or floating barracks. The
Admiralty regarded shore accommodation as expensive and liable to lead to indiscipline. These floating establishments kept their names while the actual vessels housing them changed. For example, the gunnery training school at
Portsmouth occupied three ships between its foundation in 1830 and its move ashore in 1891 but all were named (or renamed)
HMS Excellent.
As ships began to use increasingly complex technology in the late 19th century, these facilities grew too large to continue afloat and were moved to shore establishments while keeping their names. An early "stone frigate" was the engineering training college
HMS Marlborough, moved ashore to Portsmouth in 1880. The gunnery school continued to be named HMS
Excellent after its move ashore to
Whale Island in 1891. By
World War I there were about 25 "stone frigates" in the
United Kingdom.
The practice continues in the Royal Navy and some other navies of the
Commonwealth of Nations, notably the
Canadian Forces Naval Reserve.
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List of Royal Navy shore establishments
