Royal Oak, Frindsbury unclear, but one reported theory is that it was named after the 17th-century warship HMS "Royal Oak", which was sunk at the nearby Raid on the Medway in 1664. Local people say that one of the beams in the pub comes from the ship, the remains of which may have been broken up at a nearby shipyard after the battle. Another theory is that it was named after the Royal Oak that Charles II of England hid in following the Battle of Worcester. In the late 18th or early 19th century it was given a Flemish Bond brick face and
HMS Royal Oak (1664) Four Days' Battle, and the St. James' Day Fight. At the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir John Lawson, "Royal Oak" was the flagship of the Van Division of the Duke of York's Red Squadron; Sir John later died of the wounds he received in the battle. After the defeat administered to the Dutch Navy in the 1666 battle on St. James' Day, the English made the mistake of deciding to save money and leave the fleet in ordinary during the ensuing fighting season, a decision ultimately resulting in "Royal Oak" being burnt by the