The ss Great Britain is almost unique as a preserved passenger liner (the RMS Queen Mary at Long Beach, California, being another rare example). Self-evidently, no vessel of this size can be preserved fully under cover, so the superstructure will always be open to the elements, meaning that continuous maintenance of a relatively fragile object is required to an extent not usually found in a visitor attraction. Discuss the case for public funding for such attractions versus a privately operated visitor attraction such as RMS Queen Mary and consider ways, other than those described in the text, in which financial support can be raised for the ship’s preservation.