Appeal

When Isambard Kingdom Brunel conceived his “greatest experiment since Creation” (as the newspapers of the day called it), he was taking a giant but carefully calculated risk. He had chosen to build his SS Great Britain from iron – a material which is superbly strong and long-lasting, but also has a natural enemy. Rust.

180 years after the ship triumphantly launched from Bristol, we need your help to fight that old enemy again.

Protecting the SS Great Britain’s magnificent iron hull has been a complex and ongoing challenge ever since she was rescued from Falkland Islands in 1970. In those days, there was simply no precedent for the repair and restoration work that was required on what had become a ravaged hulk. While tiny flakes of rusty red iron do continue to drop into the dry dock, corrosion under the glass plate has been stabilised through extraordinarily innovative conservation methods

But above the water line it is a different story. This area of the hull (25-30% of the whole) has much less chloride present, because it wasn’t immersed in sea water during its working life. So, another approach to maintenance was needed. Conservation experts concluded that with scrupulous care and attention, a high standard of protection could be maintained by thoroughly cleaning the hull, and recoating Brunel’s original iron with a custom-formulated specialist protective paint regime at regular intervals.

This conservation effort means that the SS Great Britain can survive, standing open to the elements on Bristol’s harbourside, as long as the hull is regularly monitored, evaluated and painted.

However, changes to our climate are starting to have an effect. 2023 was the second wettest year since records started (in 1853) for the city of Bristol, and 2024 looks like it might follow suit. As the rain pours down over Bristol it lashes into the exposed topsides of the SS Great Britain causing more spots of corrosion to take hold, especially on the Southwest-facing port side of the ship where the sun’s rays also cause the metal to expand placing a greater strain on the coating. 

Every 5 years we must commission a conservation report to assess the condition of the hull, and the report completed in August this year has told us that our conservation plan is working as well as can be expected; most of the protective paint has adhered well to the metal. But there are spots where aggressive corrosion has caused the paint to be compromised.

We need to urgently address these areas so that they don’t become a greater issue. Effective work now will help to keep the ship safe for the future.

Thanks to the generous donations of our supporters, the SS Great Britain has survived the 54 years since she was rescued. We are now appealing to you to support our hull conservation efforts so that she can stand proud in the Bristol harbourside for future generations.

‘Conservation is an ongoing process; it needs systematic work and extraordinary effort. If we invest now, and do the right thing at this moment, it will reduce the work needed in the future to protect Brunel’s SS Great Britain. We now urgently need to respond to the recent conservation report by quickly and effectively removing these small spots of aggressive corrosion, recoating the original iron to prevent any further damage.’

  Nicola Grahamslaw, Ship’s Conservation Engineer

Please help us reach our goal to raise £20,000 by the end of the year so that this conservation work can start in 2025.

Can you support this appeal to protect the SSGB’s hull today?