Re-naming SS Great Britain tourist attraction

'It has been decided', classic woke response. Why did they not go out and run a proper survey and find out what visitors thought they were coming to see?

People could also be under the misapprehension that SS refers to Hitler's Schutsstaffel!

It is, and always has been, difficult to assess how prevalent ignorance is.

Usually, museums etc. explain anything they expect the general public not to know, rather than just change designations.

oh he's not important enough that they named a university after him <massive eye roll>

JaneJudge

oh he's not important enough that they named a university after him <massive eye roll>

And after Churchill was voted the Greatest Great Britain - as Littlejohn used to bleat “you couldn’t make it up”.

They are woke idiots.

Sorry, but a sign pointing to Bristol Dockyards would not make me think of visiting them. I think the site will experience a reduction in visitors.
Why couldn't the sign read "Brunel's Steamship Great Britain"?
This is an absurd example of wokery.

What are the

Why are you blaming “wokery” rather than the ignorance of the great British public? No I wouldn't be interested in visiting a dockyard, but some people would and yes, maybe adding Brunel’s steamship Great Britain to the description would be all that is needed.

Agree 25Avalon

Neilspurgeon0

JaneJudge

oh he's not important enough that they named a university after him <massive eye roll>

And after Churchill was voted the Greatest Great Britain - as Littlejohn used to bleat “you couldn’t make it up”.

And the first in the world to build a tunnel under a navigable river ( with his father)

They are also developing the Albion Dock next door & also plans are afoot for a replica of SS Great Western. It in no way denirgrates Brunel to name the area Bristol Dockyards.
I love visiting it, there is still an authentic ambiance unlike some of its sadly overdeveloped 'shopping mall esque'counterparts.
The (mostly young)people of Bristol that I know of are friendly and keen that their lovely city is known to be inclusive and respectful of all of the workers high & low whose lives will be commemorated. As it should be IMO.

It is the most fascinating thing to visit, but I'm not sure that Bristol Dockyards has the same ring.

It is wokery because it 'has been decided' (by whom?) that visitors are more interested in tales of ordinary people than visiting an engineering feat by a genius.

Yes Brunel was a great genius eazybee - Clifton Suspension Bridge, Royal Albert Bridge across the Tamar at Saltash, Great Western Railway, Floating Harbour in Bristol, hospitals in the Crimea, SS Great Britain, SS Great Easter, SS Great Western, and on one day of the year the sun shines through Box Tunnel east of Bath and that day is Brunel’s birthday. He could have a whole museum all to himself with Bristol achievements alone.

I remember when the SS Great Britain came home to the original dry dock in which she was built in Bristol in July 1970. Crowds lined Hotwells to cheer. A lot of work has taken place since then to restore her. It is the SS Great Britain people come to see.

I quite like it when they have a consultation to name something, that always ends well

Boaty Mc Brunelface, Galaxy...

AuntieE

People could also be under the misapprehension that SS refers to Hitler's Schutsstaffel!

It is, and always has been, difficult to assess how prevalent ignorance is.

Usually, museums etc. explain anything they expect the general public not to know, rather than just change designations.

I doubt it. If they don't know SS stands for Steam Ship, they are unlikely to know that in another context entirely, it stands for 'Schutsstaffel'.

Some years ago we went to Bristol specifically to visit the SS Great Britain. Our party included a professional ship designer and a 5-10 year old girl who knew everything that anybody could possible want to know about Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

I also visited it with a group of archaeologist friends who were all absolutely clear that we were visiting the SS Great Britain, what it was, who designed it and what it did.

The great Bristolians (those living there now) are on the whole a very laid back BUT totally inclusive bunch of people.

They were the people that asked the council repeatedly to please remove the public statue (outside) of Edward Colston,(1636–1721), Bristol’s most infamous slave trader. A senior official in the Royal African Company, his investments and leadership facilitated the enslavement of tens of thousands of Africans. Though he did fund local schools and hospitals.

When the council steadfastly refused local people toppled it into the water.

The local people had no issue with his statue, and his story, being placed into a museum and forming part of Bristol’s history, however they objected to it being in the street and celebrated. Their City, their choice.

The people of Bristol may have been consulted.

My son and his gf have lived in Bristol for over 10 years. His fg was born and bred in Gloucester and did her degree and masters at Bristol Uni.

My DH and I love Bristol and a lot of work has been done on their harbour and dockyards.

It’s getting terribly boring hearing the expression “woke” and “worker” banded around constantly, particularly when used totally out of context.

valdali

Boaty Mc Brunelface, Galaxy...

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Cossy

The great Bristolians (those living there now) are on the whole a very laid back BUT totally inclusive bunch of people.

They were the people that asked the council repeatedly to please remove the public statue (outside) of Edward Colston,(1636–1721), Bristol’s most infamous slave trader. A senior official in the Royal African Company, his investments and leadership facilitated the enslavement of tens of thousands of Africans. Though he did fund local schools and hospitals.

When the council steadfastly refused local people toppled it into the water.

The local people had no issue with his statue, and his story, being placed into a museum and forming part of Bristol’s history, however they objected to it being in the street and celebrated. Their City, their choice.

The people of Bristol may have been consulted.

My son and his gf have lived in Bristol for over 10 years. His fg was born and bred in Gloucester and did her degree and masters at Bristol Uni.

My DH and I love Bristol and a lot of work has been done on their harbour and dockyards.

It’s getting terribly boring hearing the expression “woke” and “worker” banded around constantly, particularly when used totally out of context.

Yes & I love that about Bristol. I love that it has an inclusive & green culture.
But the people of Bristol put a lot of effort into getting the SS Great Britain back from Argentina & restoring her & submitting bids for government money to give her an environment to preserve her for future generations.In other words, a lot of us are proud of the ship.
I'm not saying I disagree with the spirit behind being non-elitist, & I'm glad they toppled Colston, but I think the re-naming is going too far. If there were any slave connections, I wouldn't think this but there just aren't.

Was she ever in Argentina? I thought she was recovered from
Port Stanley in The Falkland Islands where she had ended up being scuttled.

Of course if you would really like the truth you could read the link but then you’d have to drop the cheap ‘woke’ jibes and where’s the fun in that?

www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2026/06/brunels-ss-great-britain-site-renamed-as-new-museum-prepares-to-launch/

Perhaps Historic Bristol Dockyards?

There is more to the Bristol Dockyards than the Steam Ship Great Britain although that is the main attraction and it is well worth a visit.

Greyduster

Was she ever in Argentina? I thought she was recovered from
Port Stanley in The Falkland Islands where she had ended up being scuttled.

She was recovered from the Falkland s, as you say.

Tuliptree

Of course if you would really like the truth you could read the link but then you’d have to drop the cheap ‘woke’ jibes and where’s the fun in that?

www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2026/06/brunels-ss-great-britain-site-renamed-as-new-museum-prepares-to-launch/

Thank you 🙂