Have you ever wondered what smells you might encounter on a nineteenth century passenger ship? Well, a visit to Brunel’s SS Great Britain might give you a good idea!
From 17 May, every corner of the Victorian dockyard, two museums, dry dock and historic ship will be open to explore, with new sounds, smells and surprises ready to be discovered.
Natalie Fey, Interpretation Manager, says: "We have been extremely busy over the last few months installing new sensory surprises, ready for re-opening! Visitors will be treated to lots of new sounds, smells and effects on site as well as brand new historical set dressing in the Great Western Dockyard. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our visitors back and excited to open the gates to the SS Great Britain once again!”
With passengers, crew and livestock living and working in the same space for up to 60 days at a time during the voyages to Australia, Brunel’s SS Great Britain would have been a particularly pungent place.
Life in Steerage class could be rough and regular bathing was not a common habit, so when wandering around the Steerage berths today you may get a whiff of some stale, dirty linen. Making your way up to first class does not improve the smells very much either, upon entering the Ladies Boudoir you will come across the poor stewardess, Annie Green, who has found that sea travel doesn’t agree with her very much, venture too far into her cabin you will experience an overwhelming stench of vomit…so don’t hang around for too long.
Do not fear however, there are also some wonderfully delightful smells on board too. Particularly within the ship’s kitchen. Why not go and see what the cook is making, the smell of bacon lingers near the galley cooker, where the pots and pans bubble away and next door the smell of freshly baked bread escapes from the bread ovens…mmm yum!
Brunel’s SS Great Britain – Europe’s most-welcoming museum (European Museum of the Year Awards 2019) – is reopening on 17 May and received incredible reviews and feedback during their last opening due to their incredible attention to detail making sure it is covid - secure.
During the last opening, visitors praised the experience, including timed arrival slots and safety measures. The exceptionally warm welcome from staff topped feedback.
Visitors praised the attraction for providing plenty of hand sanitiser stations and easy-to-follow one-way routes to explore the ship and two museums. Reviewers also value the ease of pre-booking arrival timeslots online which has eliminated queuing.
Liam Tolhurst, Head of Visitor Experience for the SS Great Britain Trust, said:
“We know visitors are guaranteed a safe day out, but it’s equally important that they feel incredibly welcome. With museum re-opening, it really is a full day out. There are plenty of outdoor picnic tables in the dockyard and alongside our outdoor photography exhibition.”
Tickets to visit Brunel’s SS Great Britain, which include free revisits for a year, can be booked at ssgreatbritain.org.
TOP 10 Smells:
- The smell of Brunel’s cigar smoke in Brunel’s Duke Street Office
- Engine oil in the Dockyard
- Bacon being cooked in the galley kitchen
- Horse Manure in the Forward Hold
- Vomit in Stewardess Annie Green's cabin, sadly sea travel didn't agree with her very much
- Stale, dirty linen in steerage
- Freshly baked bread from the bakery
- Urine floating from the communal toilet
- The sterile smell of Carbolic Soap in the Surgeon’s Cabin
- Rum in the Gambler’s Cabin.
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