HMS President (1918)

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HMS President in the Thames

HMS President, formerly HMS Saxifrage is an Anchusa class corvette of the Royal Navy, completed in 1918. The vessel was built at the shipyard of Lobnitz & Company, Renfrew, Scotland as Yard Number 827 ^[1]

She was originally named Saxifrage after the Saxifrage genus of plants which includes the variety London Pride, but was renamed President in July 1922 at the same time as she became a drill ship for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. The current HMS President is a shore establishment of the Royal Naval Reserve near Tower Bridge.

Saxifrage was built in Renfrew, part of a small class of convoy protection ships built to look like merchant ships for use as Q-ships in World War I.

It was purchased in April 2006 by the serviced office company, MLS Group Plc.

HMS President is permanently berthed in the River Thames on the Victoria Embankment close to Blackfriars Millennium Pier and is listed on the National Register of Historic Vessels. It currently serves as a venue for conferences and functions and also houses the offices of a number of media companies.

HMS Wellington, a Grimsby class sloop, is moored nearby. A sister ship HMS Chrysanthemum was formerly moored nearby, but was scrapped in 1995.