The quaintly-titled "Establishment" Period of the Royal Navy lasted from 1719 until 1745 and was, broadly speaking, an era of peace until war broke out with Spain in 1739 (the so-called "War of Jenkin's Ear") which then merged into a more general war with France known to history as the War of the Austrian Succession. Significantly, this long period of peace was not one of neglect for the Navy and its fleets were surprisingly well maintained throughout; rather, it was a time of technical inertia during which the deeply conservative attitude of the Surveyor of the Navy, Sir Jacob Ashworth, prevented any fundamental changes in the design or building of ships whose roots still lay in the late seventeenth century.

Ashworth's first detailed "Establishment" of dimensions and scantlings (thicknesses of timber) drawn up in 1719 set the pattern for his tenure of office although as details of developments in rival navies filtered through into the Admiralty, periodic changes were made in 1733 and again in 1741. As far as 50-gun ships in the 1733 Establishment were concerned, their basic dimensions were practically identical to those of 1719, namely:

1719 1733

Length of keel 109'8" 108'8"
Breadth (beam) 36'0" 38'6"
Depth (in hold) 15'2" 15'9"

Whilst the length of the main deck remained unaltered at 134 feet, the tonnage was markedly increased from 756 tons to 853 even though the armament stayed the same at 22-18pounders (on the gun deck), 22-9pdrs. (upper deck), 4-6pdrs. (quarterdeck) and 2-6pdrs. (forecastle). In all, twelve 50-gun fourth rates were ordered and built to the 1733 Establishment, the last of which -- H.M.S. Antelope -- survived until 1783.