SS Great Britain site renamed Bristol Dockyards in 'cool' rebrand

For a decade the dockland site in Bristol that houses the ocean liner SS Great Britain, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, has been promoted as Brunel’s SS Great Britain. The names of both ship and engineer are now being ditched and the site will be renamed Bristol Dockyards as part of a drive to make it "cooler" and more inclusive.

The site will focus more closely on the role the vessel played in the British empire and seek to prompt conversations about topics such as migration. Andrew Edwards, the chief executive of the SS Great Britain Trust, accepted some would describe the moves as "woke": "Change is never easy.

You’ll always get those that are resistant," he said, adding he was determined the site should be "cool" too and to present something more rooted in Bristol. The new name was announced before the July opening of its expanded and revamped museum, which will focus less on an engineering triumph and more on telling the stories of the people in Bristol and across the world that the vessel helped shape.

United Kingdom, Bristol

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