M Shed
About
Bristol's free social history museum, in a real 1950s transit shed on the Harbourside next to three preserved dockside cranes, one of which still runs as a working exhibit on selected days. The permanent collection tells Bristol's story through the people who built it, including its role in the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition movement, its aircraft and engineering industries, and its counterculture, and it now displays Banksy's Grim Reaper, moved indoors from the side of the Thekla nightclub boat for preservation. Entry is free; some special exhibitions are ticketed.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Banksy's original Grim Reaper, moved here from the Thekla nightclub boat
- ✓The preserved dockside cranes outside, one still operable on selected days
- ✓Bristol's transatlantic slave trade history told directly, not sanitised
- ✓Free entry to the permanent collection
Tips
- →Closed Mondays outside summer; open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-17:00, with extended Monday opening July-September.
- →Free entry makes it an easy fallback on a wet afternoon.
- →Check the working crane demonstration schedule if you want to see one in motion.
- →A short walk from the ss Great Britain and Wapping Wharf.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
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Brunel's ss Great Britain
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Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
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