HMS Oxford was a 54-gun fourth rate ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, built by Francis Baylie in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 and launched in June 1674. Her guns comprised twenty-two 24-pounders on the lower deck, with twenty-two large saker

Saker (cannon)

The saker was a medium cannon slightly smaller than a culverin developed during the early 16th century and often used by the English. It was named after the Saker Falcon, a large falconry bird native to the Middle East....

s (8-pounders) on the upper deck and ten smaller sakers (5-pounders) on the quarter deck.

On 23 February 1684, Captain John Tyrrell

John Tyrrell (Oakley)

Captain John Tyrrell of Oakley, Buckinghamshire, son of Sir Timothy Tyrrell and Dame Elizabeth, his wife, was made by Charles II of England the Second Admiral in the East Indies....

 was appointed to command the ship. From 1701 to 1702 the Oxford underwent a Great Repair amounting to rebuilding at Deptford

Deptford

Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...

.

On 29 June 1723 she was ordered to be taken to pieces at Portsmouth Dockyard, and rebuilt to the lines of a 50-gun Fourth Rate of the 1719 Establishment

1719 Establishment

The 1719 Establishment was the first formal 'Establishment' laid down to govern the construction of all ships built or rebuilt down to those of 20 carriage guns, whether in the Royal Dockyards or by commercial contractors...

. She relaunched on 10 July 1727.

Towards the end of the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

 the ship was commanded by Mariot Arbuthnot.

The Oxford was broken up in 1758.