Authorised by the Naval Defence Act 1889, the Centurion class was designed by William White, Director of Naval Construction, to meet an Admiralty requirement for ships suitable for use as flagships on the China and Pacific Stations, able to defeat the most powerful foreign ships likely to be encountered there.
These were most likely to be the Russian 8-inch (203 mm) gunned armoured cruisers then entering service that were intended to attack British merchant shipping in the event of war.
The Admiralty required a speed no less than 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph), a shallow draught no greater than 26 feet (7.9 m) to pass through the Suez Canal and for navigation on Chinese rivers, a range equal to that of the armoured cruiser Imperieuse, and, most importantly, a cost 30% less than that of the first-class battleship Royal Sovereign.
White's design was almost a scaled-down Royal Sovereign with 10-inch (254 mm) and 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns substituted for the 13.5-inch (343 mm) and 6-inch (152 mm) guns of the larger ships.

The Centurions had an overall length of 390 feet 9 inches (119.1 m) and a length between perpendiculars of 360 ft (109.7 m), and a beam of 70 feet (21.3 m).
Their draught at normal load was 25 ft 8 in (7.82 m) and 26 feet 9 inches (8.2 m) at deep load.
They displaced 10,634 long tons (10,805 t) at normal load and 11,200 long tons (11,400 t) at deep load.
The ships had a metacentric height of 4.1 feet (1.2 m) at deep load.
In view of the paucity of docking facilities large enough to handle them in their intended operating areas, their steel hulls were sheathed in wood and copper to reduce biofouling and lengthen the time between bottom cleanings.
Their crews numbered 620 officers and ratings in 1895 and 600 after they were rebuilt in the early years of the 20th century.
The ships were considered good steamers and good seaboats.

The Centurion-class ships were powered by a pair of three-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single propeller, using steam provided by eight cylindrical boilers at a working pressure of 155 psi (1,069 kPa; 11 kgf/cm²).
The engines were designed to produce a total of 9,000 indicated horsepower (6,700 kW) which was intended to allow the ships to make a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) using natural draught.
The engines proved to be slightly more powerful than anticipated and the ships reached 17.1 knots (31.7 km/h; 19.7 mph) from 9,703–9,934 ihp (7,236–7,408 kW) during their sea trials.
Using forced draught, they attained 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) from 13,163–13,214 ihp (9,816–9,854 kW) although this often damaged the boilers and was officially discouraged.
The Centurions carried a maximum of 1,420–1,440 long tons (1,440–1,460 t) of coal, enough to steam 5,230 nautical miles (9,690 km; 6,020 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
Authorised by the Naval Defence Act 1889, the Centurion class was designed by William White, Director of Naval Construction, to meet an Admiralty requirement for ships suitable for use as flagships on the China and Pacific Stations, able to defeat the most powerful foreign ships likely to be encountered there. These were most likely to be the Russian 8-inch (203 mm) gunned armoured cruisers then entering service that were intended to attack British merchant shipping in the event of war. The Admiralty required a speed no less than 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph), a shallow draught no greater than 26 feet (7.9 m) to pass through the Suez Canal and for navigation on Chinese rivers, a range equal to that of the armoured cruiser Imperieuse, and, most importantly, a cost 30% less than that of the first-class battleship Royal Sovereign. White's design was almost a scaled-down Royal Sovereign with 10-inch (254 mm) and 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns substituted for the 13.5-inch (343 mm) and 6-inch (152 mm) guns of the larger ships.
The Centurions had an overall length of 390 feet 9 inches (119.1 m) and a length between perpendiculars of 360 ft (109.7 m), and a beam of 70 feet (21.3 m). Their draught at normal load was 25 ft 8 in (7.82 m) and 26 feet 9 inches (8.2 m) at deep load. They displaced 10,634 long tons (10,805 t) at normal load and 11,200 long tons (11,400 t) at deep load. The ships had a metacentric height of 4.1 feet (1.2 m) at deep load. In view of the paucity of docking facilities large enough to handle them in their intended operating areas, their steel hulls were sheathed in wood and copper to reduce biofouling and lengthen the time between bottom cleanings. Their crews numbered 620 officers and ratings in 1895 and 600 after they were rebuilt in the early years of the 20th century. The ships were considered good steamers and good seaboats.
The Centurion-class ships were powered by a pair of three-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single propeller, using steam provided by eight cylindrical boilers at a working pressure of 155 psi (1,069 kPa; 11 kgf/cm²). The engines were designed to produce a total of 9,000 indicated horsepower (6,700 kW) which was intended to allow the ships to make a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) using natural draught. The engines proved to be slightly more powerful than anticipated and the ships reached 17.1 knots (31.7 km/h; 19.7 mph) from 9,703–9,934 ihp (7,236–7,408 kW) during their sea trials. Using forced draught, they attained 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) from 13,163–13,214 ihp (9,816–9,854 kW) although this often damaged the boilers and was officially discouraged. The Centurions carried a maximum of 1,420–1,440 long tons (1,440–1,460 t) of coal, enough to steam 5,230 nautical miles (9,690 km; 6,020 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
Centurion-class battleship