Celebrating the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Today (9 April) is the birthday of probably the greatest Victorian, Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1806.  He was the foremost engineer in an age of great engineers, an age of excitement, expansion and wealth.  The Industrial Revolution was at its height and Britain, its birthplace, was the vibrant hub of a worldwide empire.  The power of steam was once confined to mines and mills and had broken free, finding wheels, taking to water and transforming the landscape.

This was the time for a man of Brunel’s ability, ambition and drive to flourish.

Brunel was a vivacious, dynamic perfectionist who worked himself, plus others, very hard.  After helping his father construct the world’s first underwater tunnel, he was chosen to design the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  From this Bristol connection came the chance to create the Great Western Railway which came into Windsor in 1849.

The railway crossed the River Thames on Brunel’s beautiful single span bow and string bridge, the only one still in use today.  Take a trip on the River Thames with one of our boat trip operators then you'll be able to appreciate the bridge at close range!

Brunel went on to build steamships, the largest being The Great Eastern.  This was Brunel’s most ambitious project and it undermined his health and contributed to his early death in 1859 at the age of 53.

Brunel’s legacy can be seen in his railways and bridges and he contributed to a golden age in Britain’s history.