The SS Great Britain, berthed in a dry dock near Bristol city centre, has long been hailed as the vessel that changed the world. However, a new museum opening in one of the old dock buildings adjacent to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s creation offers a more nuanced perspective, acknowledging that the ship did not always change the world for the better and that life for those who built and travelled on it could be miserable.
A 'Warts and All' Narrative
Tim Bryan, the project manager for the museum, stated that it presents a “warts and all” story. “It’s the ship that changed the world, but there’s always an upside and a downside,” he said. “That’s human life. We have tried to provide a rounded picture of history, which we think is what people want.”
Imperialism and Migration
The museum details how after ceasing operations as a transatlantic ocean liner, the ship was used to maintain British imperial power, carrying soldiers to suppress the Indian rebellion of 1857. Later, it transported passengers to Australia, contributing to rapid and damaging changes to the way of life of Indigenous people, as the museum acknowledges.
The revamped attraction is part of a reimagining of the maritime site, which includes a name change from Brunel’s SS Great Britain to Bristol Dockyards. This move aims to make the site “cooler” and more inclusive, and a key goal is to foster conversations about difficult subjects such as migration and the British empire.
Focus on People
Bryan emphasised the museum’s focus on the people whose lives were intertwined with the ship. “This exhibition is also about the people behind the ship – the people who built it, worked on it and travelled on it,” he said. “Visitors are very interested in the people side of the ship – who they were, where they were going, what life was like onboard. It’s not just a big object in the dry dock – it’s about people.”
Among the stories featured is that of Allan Gilmour, a young passenger who travelled from the UK to Australia in 1852. His diary includes a diagram of a steerage cabin, illustrating how painfully cramped conditions were. The museum also highlights the ship’s builders and operators, such as apprentice shipwright James Johnson, who left Gloucestershire at age 13 to work on the ship, and fireman John Lee from Ireland, who shovelled coal for hours to keep the engines running.
Bryan noted, “The ship didn’t appear out of nowhere. It appeared not just because of people like Brunel, but also because of the work that was done by those guys who were in the dockyard riveting the plates together, doing the hard, physical work.”
Community Involvement
An important part of the museum project involved bringing local people into the archives to help decide which stories to focus on. Bryan explained, “We started working with local communities a few years ago. We offered them the opportunity to discover things in our archive and to look at stories that really interested them.”
One such story is that of James W Jones, who was transported from Barbados to Australia in 1837 for stealing a horse. In 1862, he travelled from Australia to England on the SS Great Britain, working as a barber, performing poetry, and participating in a mock court trial where passengers debated slavery.
Engineering and Commercial Challenges
Though the SS Great Britain was the first ocean-going ship made of metal and using an underwater propeller, leading the way for modern long-distance ships, it was not always a success. Launched in Bristol in 1843 to help the city compete with other UK ports, it lacked local authority backing and eventually made Liverpool its home port. The museum also concedes that the ship was initially unpopular with passengers because its engines were insufficient for choppy seas.
After ceasing passenger service in the 1880s, its engines were removed, and it served as a cargo ship for wheat and coal until damaged in a storm and sold as a wreck. It was used as a floating warehouse in the Falkland Islands until abandoned in the 1930s. The ship was returned to Bristol in 1970 and restored as a museum.
The new museum opens on Saturday 18 July.
