ss Great Britain: Teamwork as a platform for innovative conservation

Abstract Brunei's 1843 ss Great Britain was a technological milestone of world importance. It now rests in its original dry dock in Bristol. Research established the significance of the ship; identified its inherent instability and reviewed conservation options to support a successful 8.5 million pound Heritage Lottery Fund bid. The complex preservation project involved innovative use of desiccation to preserve the hull, along with a large scale conservation programme for the fabric of the ship and dockyard structures. The input of architects, engineers, conservators, corrosion scientists, historians and many other specialists was managed directly by the executive director and a qualified project manger who maintained timetables and coordination. Research into the effect of relative humidity on the corrosion of chloride infested iron provided data for use in a design that changed the dry dock into a climatically controlled envelope around the unstable hull.

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