"Grace Dieu" was designed by William Soper, a burgess of Southampton and clerk of the King's Ships. She was clinker-built with three planks nailed together along each part of her hull and waterproofed with tar and moss sandwiched between the timbers. She was long with a beam, comparable in size with "HMS Victory" and twice as large as "Mary Rose". The ship weighed between 1,400 tons and 2,750 tons. Two other ships, "Valentine" and "Falcon" were built to follow her. A dock was specially built for her construction near Town Quay in Southampton.