Research Outputs
The Brunel Institute collection and staff supports original research by scholars and contributors from around the world. Discover more here about the amazing discoveries, new stories and research we share through our publications, conference papers, research collaborations and community outreach programmes.
Brunel's Network
Brunel’s Network maps the people and connections behind Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s major marine engineering projects. Explore each project to see who contributed, influenced outcomes, or brought investors and ideas. Click an individual to start exploring. Engineers are shown in red, investors in gold.
The project draws on Brunel’s correspondence held at the Brunel Institute, a collaboration between the SS Great Britain Trust and the University of Bristol. Using these records as a starting point, archives across the UK are being consulted to build a fuller picture of who worked on these projects and how.
Each person’s role, such as engine builder, naval architect or investor, is recorded and fed into a data visualisation tool developed with support from the Jean Golding Institute.
As new data is added, our understanding of Brunel’s projects and the wider Victorian engineering world continues to grow.
Brunel's Network Projects
The first purpose-built ocean-going steamship (launched in 1838)
The first ocean-going ship built of iron, and driven by a propeller (launched 1845)
the largest vessel built in the 19th century, which laid the first continuous, operating length of telegraph cable between Europe and North America (launched 1860).
HISTORICAL RESEARCH
Bryan, Tim (2023) Iron, Stone and Steam: Brunel’s Railway Empire Amberly Publishing
Boyd, James (2020) ‘Mechanising migration: Transnational relationships, business structure and diffusing steam on the Atlantic’, International Journal of Maritime History, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 3 – 22
Boyd, James (2018) ‘Initiating Mass Movement: Questions of Commercial Information in Atlantic Migration from Central Europe, 1870 – 1900’, Journal of Austrian-American History, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 31 – 50
Publication
Bryan, Tim (2024) ‘L.T.C. Rolt – Life, Work, Legacy’, Legacies of Rolt: Isambard Kingdom Brunel – A joint conference of Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and Keele University, Ironbridge.
Mathers, Joanna (2022) ‘David R. MacGregor – Renowned maritime historian, draughtsman, photographer, archivist and publisher’ Oxford Naval Symposium, Oxford.
Conference Paper
Bryan, Tim (2022) ‘Brunel in Print: his biographical and bibliographical legacy’ Brunel: History, Conservation and Legacy, SS Great Britain Trust, Bristol.
Mathers, Joanna and Booth, Nick (2019) ‘Global Stories: How maritime documents connect people in the past and present’ UK Maritime Heritage Forum, Riverside Museum, Glasgow.
Conference Paper
Papavasileiou, Eleni and Thomas, Joanna (2014) ‘Seeing not looking: one maritime historian’s use of visual sources’ Seeing the Sea, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol.
Conference Paper
Fletcher, Robert (2025) ‘The Steamship Great Britain and British Emigration‘. Published online August 2025
Hatton, Timothy (2025) ‘Migration to Australia, the transition from sail to steam, and the SS Great Britain’. Published online February 2025
Hinton, Mike (2017) ‘Cholera on the SS Great Britain during July 1855‘. Published online September 2017
Hinton, Mike (2019) ‘Mismanagement of Troops Transported on the SS Great Britain, September 1855’. Published online December 2019
Conservation
Ardakani, Vahid Goodarzi; Gambaruto, Alberto M.; Grahamslaw, Nicola; Garsed-Brand, Gersed; Ault, Robert; Vaquero, Eduardo; Pregnolata, Maria (2023) ‘Heritage conservation with a surface air curtain: Use of CFD and sensor data with a near-wall region flow analysis’ Building and Environment, vol. 243
Watkinson, David and Tanner, Matthew (2008) ‘SS Great Britain: Conservation and Access – Synergy and Cost’ Studies in Conservation vol. 53, sup.1, pp.109-114
Watkinson, David and Lewis, Mark R. T. (2008) ‘Desiccated Storage of Chloride-Contaminated Iron: A study of the Effects of Loss of Environmental Control’ in May, Eric; Jones, Mark; Mitchell, Julian (eds) Heritage Microbiology and Science: Microbes, Monuments and Maritime Materials (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2008) pp.279-289
Watkinson, David and Lewis, Mark R. T. (2005) ‘Desiccated Storage of Chloride-Contaminated Archaeological Iron Objects’ Studies in Conservation vol. 50, iss. 4, pp.241-252
Watkinson, David; Tanner, Matthew; Turner, Robert; Lewis, Mark (2005) ‘SS Great Britain: Teamwork as a Platform for Innovative Conservation’ The Conservator vol. 29, iss. 1, pp.73-86
Watkinson, David and Lewis, Mark R. T. (2004) ‘The Role of βFeOOH in the Corrosion of Archaeological Iron’ MRS Online Proceedings Library vol. 852, pp.21-32
Grahamslaw, Nicola (2023) ‘SS Great Britain: Voyage to Carbon Neutral’ Historic Ships 2023: Historic Vessels, Sustainable Futures, London 28-29 November 2023 (Royal Institute of Naval Architects) pp.153-161
Watkinson, David and Lewis, Mark R.T (2004) ‘SS Great Britain Iron Hull: Modelling Corrosion to Define Storage Relative Humidity’ in Ashton, John and Hallam, David Metal ’04 Proceedings of the International Conference on Metals Conservation, Canberra 4th-8th October 2004 (Canberra: International Council of Museums (ICOM) & National Museum of Australia) pp.88-103.
conservation plan
The following Conservation Plan volumes are scans of the original. The Conservation Plan is available to view in the David MacGregor Library at the Brunel Institute during normal opening hours.