Stone frigate

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Stone frigate is a nickname for a naval establishment on land. The term has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French. The command of this first stone frigate was given to Commodore Hood's first lieutenant, who with cannon taken off the Commodore's ship, manned it with a crew of 20.

Until the late 19th century, the Royal Navy 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, including the Canadian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Navy.

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The Stone Frigate at Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario was constructed in 1820 to store part of the dismantled fleet from the War of 1812. The former warehouse was converted into a dormitory and classrooms when the college was established in 1874.

The Stone Frigate, a designated heritage building, was closed for more than 18 months for major renovations to the interior and exterior of the dormitory.

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