National Brunel Collection

The National Brunel Collection was created in collaboration with the SS Great Britain Trust and the University of Bristol. The University’s Brunel collection of ca. 8,000 items is housed in the Brunel Institute and can be accessed by researchers.

The SS Great Britain Trust’s own Brunel collection has been significantly expanded in 2014 with the addition of the Clive Richards Brunel collection. Together, these collections present a significant deposit of materials by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his father Marc Brunel.

It is the most important collection of Brunel-related material in the world, and includes original sketchbooks, letters, large-scale plans, diaries, calculation books, drawings and drawing instruments.

A large part of the collection is on display in the Being Brunel Museum on site. All items that are not on display can be accessed and viewed in the Brunel Institute. Items can be taken off display for research purposes by prior arrangement.