A museum preserving Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s steamship has had its site name changed in a “diversity” drive.
The rebrand has meant its dropped its former title of Brunel’s SS Great Britain in favour of Bristol Dockyards.
The SS Great Britain Trust, which operates the attraction, has been forced to counter inaccurate press coverage suggesting the vessel itself was being renamed to remove “Great Britain” from its title, the Museums Association reports.
In a statement released this week, the organisation declared: “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.”
The trust emphasised that “the SS Great Britain’s name has not changed – nor will it ever change under our care.”
This comes Andrew Edwards, CEO of Bristol Dockyards and the SS Great Britain Trust, said the move would be interpreted by some as “woke”.
He said: “Change is never easy. You’ll always get those that are resistant, but when we were shaping the vision, I tried to take stock of where the city was and what the city was all about.”
“We’ve consciously tried to avoid falling into those stereotypical ideas of what a maritime museum should look like and tried to present something that feels a little bit more rooted in Bristol,” he added.
Mr Edwards said: “We live in a very diverse world and we live in a very diverse city in Bristol.
“I believe the role of organisations like us is to represent that diversity as best we can and to be able to provide a little bit of something that appeals to everybody, whoever they are and wherever they’ve come from.
“Heritage really only works, in my view, when it has ownership within the community within which it sits.”
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The rebranding coincides with a major redevelopment of the site, with a reimagined museum set to welcome visitors on July 18.
Housed within the building that previously contained the Dockyard Museum, the new venue has been designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates and will provide an additional 2,000 square feet of exhibition space.
Five years of community research with local researchers has shaped the museum’s fresh approach to curation and interpretation.
The displays will draw upon newly discovered material and interactive elements, promising to uncover “previously untold human stories” from an archive containing 75,000 items.
Exhibitions will examine the ship’s influence “on the world, on the lives of those on board, and on the places to which it travelled”.
The archive chronicles the vessel’s 41 years of active service, spanning from its construction in Bristol during the 1840s through voyages to New York, Australia, India and San Francisco.
Dedicated sections will tell the stories of those who built the ship, while other displays will examine how the vessel transformed migration patterns to Australia and the subsequent effects on the continent’s First Nations peoples.
The museum will also address the ship’s involvement in imperial conflicts, documenting its use as a troop carrier during both the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
A newly created space named the James W Jones room will serve as a hub connecting community groups and researchers, honouring a Black man who served aboard the vessel.
The broader transformation of the site will unfold in subsequent phases, with conservation efforts and the restoration of Albion dock as a functioning dockyard offering maritime skills training among the priorities.
The entire project is due for completion by 2030, timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the ship’s return to Bristol from the Falkland Islands.
Andrew Edwards, CEO of Bristol Dockyards and the SS Great Britain Trust, said: “This reopening marks an important moment not only for the SS Great Britain Trust, but for the future of this historic site.
“We are committed to safeguarding this extraordinary heritage while being ambitious about what it can become: a dynamic cultural campus rooted in community participation, learning and maritime heritage.”
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