I'm travelling to the UK from Australia and wanted to visit a number of sites of scientific history.
One at the top of my list is Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
I understand there are 10 surviving structures you can visit. I know you can visit his ship in Bristol - the SS Great Britain.
But can you visit a museum with a display about his life and works?
My question is: Are there any museums or sites in England honouring Isambard Kingdom Brunel?
Very near the site of the "Oldest Tunnel in the Oldest Underground in the World", in Rotherhithe in south east London, you can find the Brunel Museum, which, well, is not just 'a display' about his life and works, but an entire museum about his life and works.
The Brunel Museum is open every day 10:00 until 17:00.
[...]
Entry to the Brunel Museum is £6 and £4 for concessions. Children under 16 accompanied by parent or carer enter free of charge. Entry to Great Eastern launch ramps is free.
Brunel Museum Railway Avenue Rotherhithe London, SE16 4LF
Telephone: +44 20 7231 3840 Email: info@brunel-museum.org.uk
In terms of a comprehensive museum, not yet.
However, if you are travelling in 2018 (or reading this reply in the future) then there will be a new museum called 'Being Brunel: the national Brunel project' opening in Bristol in a year's time.
The ss Great Britain Trust has today been awarded £4.78m by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for Being Brunel: the national Brunel project. The new museum, set to open in Bristol early 2018, will celebrate and explore Brunel, one of the world’s greatest engineers and designers.
The attraction will feature galleries and interactive experiences set in reconstructed buildings that reflect the original Victorian waterfront panorama. Brunel’s Drawing Office, a Grade II listed building, will be restored to become part of the new museum. Link
You can read more about the project here: http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/about-us/being-brunel
@jl6's point in the comments is a good one, but deserves to be expanded upon (Brunel has been adopted as a local hero in Bristol). He's one of the few historical figures we've got who didn't directly get rich from the slave trade). See for example Isambard Kingdom Brunel, famous engineer and his work at Bristol (local tourism/history site) for a few more things to spot on the way between the main sites. The bridge has a visitor centre/small museum and tours, but unfortunately the limited tours of the vaults below the tower are mostly sold out this year.
Some of the best views of the bridge are from the western tip of Spike Island, only a mile on foot from the SS Great Britain. Trains from London via Bath bring you into Brunel's Temple Meads station along Brunel's GWR, but you may want to take stopping services to see some of the key features along the way.
You can see what items of the Science Museum's collection are on display, and in which museums, using their collection search. Putting in "Brunel" gets a few results, presumably as part of exhibits that discuss the man further.
In Swindon, you can find the museum of the Great Western Railway of whom Brunel was a chief engineer. As well as the story of the railway itself, it tells the story of how society thanks to the railway, and of Brunel's key role in the whole enterprise.
There's also the worlds oldest Wrought Iron railway bridge still in use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Railway_Bridge
