The SS Great Britain (review)

Since it returned from the Falkland Islands in 1970, the SS Great Britain has been a powerful symbol for the city of Bristol and its maritime history. The ship was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and was launched at Bristol in 1843; it was both the world's largest ship and the first screw-propelled ocean-going passenger liner. Its full story, now told in the most recent incarnation of the SS Great Britain Museum, is one of innovation, determination, long-distance travel, and longevity. ¹

I first visited the ship's museum ten years ago and have been back many times since. The quality of its presentation has improved steadily over the years, but I have always felt that it had yet to realize its full potential. Happily, this is no longer the case: after thirty-six years of continuous refinement, the SS Great Britain Museum now offers an experience that is quite extraordinary. This is due in part to the ship's imaginative new setting, completed in 2005, which cleverly encloses its climate-controlled dry dock beneath a thin layer of water and glass. The visual impact of this new arrangement is stunning, for the ship appears to be floating on water, with its stern towering above the waterline in all its restored glory.

Visitors can walk around part of this new dock when they enter the museum, but they cannot access the ship from this point. Instead, they are ushered into a new exhibition gallery located in one of the historic buildings that flank the ship. Once inside, a multitude of displays on several floors tells the story of the ship, providing visitors with an understanding of the historical context of the SS Great Britain before they reach the main attraction, the ship itself (this approach echoes that of the Mary Rose in Portsmouth). The exhibition building is long and narrow, and the main route through it is via a ramp that runs along the length of the space and gradually rises to the second floor, where the entrance to the ship is. There is also an elevator, which helps to ensure that this second-floor entrance is accessible to all visitors.

Within the exhibition building, the story of the ship begins with its service on the Falkland Islands, its salvage, and its long journey back to Bristol, illustrated with original footage from a television documentary projected onto a large screen. I found this to be one of the most interesting aspects of the ship's history, and the fact that the SS Great Britain survived for so long as a coal hulk makes its restoration story even more impressive. However, this part of the display is located close to the building's entrance, and at the time of my visit the crowds of people entering the gallery made it difficult to watch the film. Judging by the popularity of this part of the exhibit, its placement should be reconsidered.

The remainder of the indoor exhibition consists of traditional graphic and text panels displayed along the length of the ramp. These panels focus on the key stages of the ship's history, from luxury Atlantic liner to emigrant clipper, troopship to windjammer, and finally to its days as a coal hulk. During the ship's first couple of years of service it crossed the Atlantic several times, until it ran aground on the sands of Dundrum Bay in Northern Ireland. Having suffered little damage to its hull, the ship was eventually refloated and, in 1852, was fitted with a new 500-horsepower Penn engine, a 300-foot-long deck, and new passenger accommodations. From 1852 to 1876 the ship served as an emigrant clipper and frequently traveled to Australia, South Africa, and New York. During the Crimean War, in 1855, it was chartered by the British government and became a troopship. Then, in 1882, the vessel was converted into a fast three-masted sailing ship, and in this guise it became a cargo-hauling windjammer. In 1886, it was damaged rounding the Cape and was forced to put to shelter in the Falkland Islands. The cost of...