Why shore establishments became stone frigates

Why did the Royal Navy use ship names for land-based establishments?

Stone frigates let shore personnel be borne on a warship's books, fitting the legal and disciplinary arrangements of the period.

The term is traced back to Diamond Rock in 1803 before the discussion turns to its later administrative purpose. Shore personnel could be borne on the books of a named vessel or establishment because the Naval Discipline Act applied through service in a warship. At Bermuda, the depot-ship name HMS Terror passed to a successor before HMS Malabar became the name of the dockyard's shore establishment. A ship's identity could therefore migrate onto barracks or dockyard facilities while retaining a practical legal function.