Thisbe had a length at the gundeck of 151feet and 127feet at the keel. She had a beam of 40feet, a draught of 15feet and a depth of hold of 12feet. The ship's tonnage was 1082 tons burthen.[1] The modified Leda-class frigates were armed with twenty-eight 18-pounder cannon on her gundeck, fourteen 32-pounder carronades on her quarterdeck and a pair of 9-pounder cannon and two more 32-pounder carronades in forecastle. The ship had a crew of 315 officers and ratings.[2]
Thisbe, the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,[3] was ordered on 23 July 1817, laid down in August 1820 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 9 September 1824.[4] She was completed for ordinary at Plymouth Dockyard on 5 October 1824 and the ship was roofed over from the mainmast forward. Thisbe was converted for service as a depot ship from 1850–63 and was loaned to the Missions to Seamen on 13 August of that year as a floating church;[1] Lord Bute paid for the necessary modifications. The ship spent almost the next 30 years berthed at the Bute West Dock in Cardiff.[5] Thisbe was taken out of service in 1891 and sold to W. H. Caple for £1,005 on 11 August 1892.[1] All Souls Chapel was built nearby in 1892 as a replacement.
Another redundant Leda-class frigate, HMS Hamadryad, was also moored in Cardiff and used as a hospital ship from 1866 to 1905.