InfoBritain

 

SS Great Britain, Bristol

On deck, SS Great Britain

In 1835 Isambard Kingdom Brunel was planning a railway to link Bristol and London. Then with typical exuberance he decided to build liners to take people from Bristol on westwards across the Atlantic to America. The Great Western was built first, followed by Great Britain in 1843. This vessel had an iron hull, and was one of the first to be driven by a propeller. I've read in the past that Great Britain was the first ship to use the screw propeller, but this is not true. Brunel studied the small experimental steamer Rainbow before building his own ship. It is a measure of the great excitement that surrounded Brunel's projects that misconceptions about them sometimes arise.

On her fifth voyage, in September 1846, Great Britain ran aground on rocks in Dundrum Bay, Ireland, after misreading lights on the Isle of Man. Her iron hull allowed the ship to survive and be refloated. But salvage and repair costs bankrupted the Great Western Steamship Company. Great Britain was sold to Griggs, Bight and Company, and used on their route to Australia, until 1882, when she was sold again. In 1886 Great Britain ran aground in a storm off the Falkland Islands. The rusting hulk was eventually rescued from Sparrow Cove near Port Stanley in 1969, and towed back to Bristol, where she was restored and placed in Bristol's Dockyard Museum. There are tours of the ship, with a choice of four audio guides, each with a different theme.

 

 

Dining Room aboard SS Great Britain

Address: SS Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol BS1 6TY

Opening Times: open daily from 10am.

Closing at 5.30pm from March 26th to 31st October.

Closing at 4.30pm the rest of the year. Last admission one hour before closing.

SS Great Britain is closed 24th - 25th December and January 10th 2011.

Directions: Bristol Dockyard Museum is in Gas Ferry Road, Bristol. If you come in from the M5 you will pass under Brunel's Clifton suspension bridge. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on the SS Great Britain.

Access: The ship and dry dock are fully accessible to wheelchair users. Some of the ship's cabins are too small for standard wheelchairs, but wheelchairs can be hired that can reach all areas. Sign language video guides are available, and there is an induction loop at the ticket office and in the shop. Guide dogs are welcome. There is free entry for carers or assistants.

Contact:

telephone: 0117 926 0680

infoline: 0117 929 1843

fax: 0117 925 5788

e-mail: admin@ssgreatbritain.org

web: www.ssgreatbritain.org