The 1651 Programme of five 410-ton fourth-rate vessels was urged by the Council of State all speed should be made in completing the ships in May 1650. Initially five vessels were specified, three of 410 tons at 6.10.0d^{[Note 1]} per ton and two of 600 tons at £7.10.0d^{[Note 2]} per ton. The size of these vessels grew from the 1647 predecessors with 600 tonners being much broader. The three 410-ton vessels would be completed as 34-gun frigates (or fourth rates).^[1]

The construction of the vessels was assigned to Portsmouth Dockyard with one vessel contracted to Peter Pett I of Ratcliffe. The dimensional data was so varied that it will be listed on the individual vessels along with their gun armament composition.^[2]

• British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © Rif Winfield 2009, EPUB ISBN 978-1-78346-924-6, Chapter 4, The Fourth Rates - 'Small Ships', Vessels acquired from 24 March 1603, 1650 Programme
• Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt-Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © the estate of J.J. Colledge, Ben Warlow and Steve Bush 2020, EPUB ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7