Re-naming SS Great Britain tourist attraction

JenniRen

There are a huge amount of attractions there as wel, as the SS Great Britain so perhaps the term Bristol Dockyards does not do it justice?
That makes it sound more like a modern dockyard such as Avonmouth Docks.

"& to be honest the surrounding docks aren't a patch on Gloucester."
Well, that point could be discussed endlessly.

The Bristol docks are still very much “work in progress” Maybe, given time, the completed docks may well be just as good as Gloucester, however, part of this is down to individual opinion and tastes.

NotSpaghetti

...a bit of a non-story really.

I agree!

There are a huge amount of attractions there as wel, as the SS Great Britain so perhaps the term Bristol Dockyards does not do it justice?
That makes it sound more like a modern dockyard such as Avonmouth Docks.

"& to be honest the surrounding docks aren't a patch on Gloucester."
Well, that point could be discussed endlessly.

...a bit of a non-story really.

But the whole site is expanding, Avalon (and others) - well beyond the one ship.

The vessel IS important of course but there will be a lot more to see there and different aspects of the SS Great Britain story.

The new name is intended to reflect the long-term ambition of the SS Great Britain Trust, the charity that runs the site, to transform the attraction into a broader cultural and learning campus encompassing the adjacent Great Western and Albion dockyards.

The trust has hit back against misleading media reports that it changed the name of the ship itself in order to remove “Great Britain” from its title

A statement from the organisation this week said: “The steamship Great Britain remains at the heart of our charity's purpose and all the work that we deliver. The ship’s name is not changing – instead, our organisational name is changing to Bristol Dockyards. This name change allows us to grow as a heritage site and ensures we can remain taking care of the ship for years to come.

“The SS Great Britain’s name has not changed - nor will it ever change under our care – and her doors remain open to the city of Bristol and beyond.”

Remember when Royal Mail (a great brand name to have) changed its name to Consignia? It spent a fortune changing the signs on the vans etc. Then hey guess what someone realised Royal Mail was a great name to have and it all changed back.

"Remember when Royal Mail (a great brand name to have) changed its name to Consignia? It spent a fortune changing the signs on the vans etc. Then hey guess what someone realised Royal Mail was a great name to have and it all changed back."

Yes. Now many of the vans seems to be white, some with no insignia. Is a white van cheaper than a red van?

And a large amount who weren’t who regarded it as criminal damage which it was.. The police stood by and did nothing.

25Avalon

If you’ve got something good why change it when there’s is no real reason to do so? Remember when Royal Mail (a great brand name to have) changed its name to Consignia? It spent a fortune changing the signs on the vans etc. Then hey guess what someone realised Royal Mail was a great name to have and it all changed back.

People come from all round the world to see the SS Great Britain. The docks, although interesting are secondary. Keep the name.

Btw if you want to see the toppled statue of Colston, which was not with the agreement of everyone in Bristol as most of the protestors were from all over the country in support of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, then it is displayed in M Shed which is a museum about all the people of Bristol.

There were a large proportion of Bristolians there at the toppling of the statue.

25Avalon

If you’ve got something good why change it when there’s is no real reason to do so? Remember when Royal Mail (a great brand name to have) changed its name to Consignia? It spent a fortune changing the signs on the vans etc. Then hey guess what someone realised Royal Mail was a great name to have and it all changed back.

People come from all round the world to see the SS Great Britain. The docks, although interesting are secondary. Keep the name.

Btw if you want to see the toppled statue of Colston, which was not with the agreement of everyone in Bristol as most of the protestors were from all over the country in support of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, then it is displayed in M Shed which is a museum about all the people of Bristol.

The name hasn't changed!

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 many people think it’s linked to the Nazi SS any more than they think it’s linked to the Social Services.
It’s another stupid decision to be PC.
We’re all just dying to see Bristol Docks aren’t we?😄

If you’ve got something good why change it when there’s is no real reason to do so? Remember when Royal Mail (a great brand name to have) changed its name to Consignia? It spent a fortune changing the signs on the vans etc. Then hey guess what someone realised Royal Mail was a great name to have and it all changed back.

People come from all round the world to see the SS Great Britain. The docks, although interesting are secondary. Keep the name.

Btw if you want to see the toppled statue of Colston, which was not with the agreement of everyone in Bristol as most of the protestors were from all over the country in support of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, then it is displayed in M Shed which is a museum about all the people of Bristol.

“ The SS Great Britain’s name has not changed - nor will it ever change under our care – and her doors remain open to the city of Bristol and beyond.”

“The museum has conducted five years of community research with local researchers to inform its new curation and interpretation.“

And there we go

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 🙂

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.

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.

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/

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

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.

valdali

Boaty Mc Brunelface, Galaxy...

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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.

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.

Boaty Mc Brunelface, Galaxy...

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

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.

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.