Brunel MuseumStay in the loop and go behind the scenes at the museum, with articles by our director, learning manager and volunteers, there is never a dull moment.
The Brunel’s Thames Tunnel was called the Eighth Wonder of the World and attracted plenty of visitors – both during its construction and once it was built. For #SouthAsianHeritageMonth we take a look at one visitor, Motilt Singh, the first Nepali to migrate to London Motilal Singh was born in Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu […]
It seems appropriate that we reopened the museum is English Tourism week 2021. Like so many sectors, tourism has had an impossible year, with venues closed to the public and teams behind the scenes working around the clock to try and find ways to keep making memories while their visitors are not able to visit. […]
During #WomensHistoryMonth we’re sharing the stories of women who made engineering history: from the lesser known Brunel women, trailblazing female engineers from the past or the women making history today. Today’s post is from our volunteer Gill Howard and is about Marc’s first child, Sophia Brunel Sophia Macnamara Brunel (b. 30 April 1802, d. 17th […]
We are delighted to have worked with History Storytime to help make a history podcast for children on Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Listen to it here (you may need to scroll down): Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) team up with the Brunel Museum to tell the story of the incredible engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel […]
It is an absolute privilege to be writing my first blog as Director of the Brunel Museum. Although I’ve been in post just over two weeks-plenty has been happening! To say 2020 was a challenging year would be an understatement, and in many ways the beginning of 2021 hasn’t felt much different. But I am […]
The Brunel Museum invites proposals from experienced registered mobile food and drink operators. We are looking to work in partnership to create an interesting place for visitors, residents and those passing by on the Thames Path to meet, eat and drink. The food business must be registered. The mobile food/ drink outlet self-contained. The Brunel […]
As we continue into the 3rd nationwide lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic everyone is thinking about novel ways of working and keeping themselves busy. The Brunel Museum is no exception and we have taken advantage of the current closure to complete some important capital works and improve the facilities available to visitors and people hiring […]
In 1846, at the opening session of the Council of the Society of Arts, Queen Victoria’s Consort, Prince Albert, expressed a desire to wed high art with mechanical skill. In the 1840s he, along with Henry Cole (1808-1882) and other members of the Society, visited a number of exhibitions of industrial design in England; the […]
12th January 1828. Near shift change. Isambard was in the shield, helping workers at the face itself. “Suddenly a torrent of water swept in, knocked them out of the frame and extinguished all the lights. A fallen timber trapped Isambard’s leg” (The Brunels’ Tunnel, pg41). On this day in 1828, the Thames Tunnel flooded for […]
I’m sure that for many, 2020 hasn’t quite been the year we had hoped for, however with hard work and dedication, the incredible spirit of our Museum proved difficult to suppress. Dana Skelley OBE joined us as Chair of the Board of Trustees in January. Dana brought a wealth of experience to the Charity and […]
