Visitors can walk under the impressive glass 'sea', which is designed to protect the ship for corrosion. © ss Great Britain Trust.
The historic steamship ss Great Britain will be ‘re-launched’ at the Great Western Dockyard in Bristol on July 16 2005 after major renovation work has ensured its survival.
Originally launched in 1843, the ship was designed by pioneering engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but its iron hull had been corroding until undergoing a £11.3 million restoration project. A series of plates have created a visually impressive glass ‘sea’, covered in an insulating layer of water, which will seal the ship into her dry dock and form a dehumidification chamber.
Director of the ss Great Britain Trust, Matthew Tanner, said: “The ‘re-launch’ celebrations mark the start of an exciting new period in the ship’s life. Visitors can descend under the glass ‘sea’ to stand below the ship’s hull and propeller and see ss Great Britain in her full glory, as passengers and crew would have known her from the 1840s.”
The ss Great Britain was salvaged and brought back to dry dock in Bristol in 1970. © ss Great Britain Trust.
The ss Great Britain is one of the last remaining ship designed by Brunel, and was the biggest ship in the world when launched. She was in service for nearly 100 years and her combination of iron hull and screw propeller made her the forerunner of all modern shipping, transforming international passenger travel and paving the way for mass emigration.
She originally served as an ocean liner, later becoming a cargo ship, troop transporter and finally a floating warehouse in the Falkland Islands, from where she was salvaged and returned to Bristol in 1970.
Visitors will now be able to find out more about the ship’s life at the new Dockyard Museum, even climbing above the rigging into the ‘crow’s nest’. There will be a series of celebration events there to celebrate the ‘re-launch’, from July 16-21 2005.
“The dry dock holds the secret to the ss Great Britain’s future conservation," added Matthew. "From mid July the ss Great Britain will be one of the most important, and exciting, historic ships to visit in the world.”
