Brunel 200: Brunel and the Rest of the South West

Outside of Bristol, BrunelÕs work had a significant impact on large parts of the South West, its history, economic development and industrial landscape.

  Brunel’s calculations for Royal Albert
Bridge (University of Bristol)

  Plan of principal bedroom floor of
proposed Watcombe home
(University of Bristol)

Swindon Railway Museum (Swindon Borough Council)

  Swindon Railway Village Museum
  (Swindon Borough Council)

  King Edward I class GWR locomotive
  The Bristolian at Crowcombe
Heathfield station (photo by Tim King)

  Kingfisher Railtours locomotive at Horse
Cove near Dawlish (photo by Nathan
Williamson)

Brunel 200 coordinated and promoted a varied programme of performances, local history projects, workshops, exhibitions, art installations, publications, interpretative trails and other activities that celebrated Brunel’s links with the region and addressed wider issues associated with his work.

Projects supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund included:

•	Restoration and interpretation of Brunel’s garden at his Watcombe estate, Brunel Manor, near Torbay.
•	Exhibitions and special events at Falmouth Art Gallery, Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, Newton Abbot Museum, Penlee Museum and Gallery, Teignbridge and South Hams Museum, Torquay Museum, Porthcurno Telegraph Museum and Western Super Quilts, Weston Super Mare.
•	Schools projects with Folk South West.
•	Performances organised by Streats Ltd (Bath).

See the full list here.

Contractor’s drawing based on Brunel’s specifications for Bath station (Adrian Vaughan Collection)

There were major Brunel festivals in Swindon, Stroud and Saltash, a programme of events linked to Brunel’s work in South Devon, and a regionwide exhibition coinciding with the issuing of Brunel commemorative stamps. Among the final events in the South West were the exhibition The End of the Line at the Royal Cornwall Museum, which ran to Christmas 2006, the Dawlish Regeneration Project and the erection of interpretation boards at the Holburne Museum, Bath.

Many South West visitor attractions are accessible by travelling along Brunel’s rail routes and using public transport including:

•	Swindon’s Great Western Railway Works: the site of STEAM-the Museum of the Great Western Railway and the Great Western Designer Outlet Centre.
•	Brunel’s Railway Village: specially built to house the Swindon workers constructing the railway and home to the Railway Cottage Museum.
•	Tyntesfield House in Wraxall, North Somerset: a spectacular Victorian country house and estate overlooking the beautiful Yeo Valley, originally built for and owned by the Gibbs’ family who financed the GWR and owned the ss Great Britain.
•	Clevedon Court near Clevedon, North Somerset: home in Brunel’s day to Sir Abraham Elton who was closely involved with the Clifton Suspension Bridge competition.
•	Brunel’s Scenic Coastal Railway: following the route of Brunel’s atmospheric railway on a track that hugs the beautiful East Devon coastline between Teignmouth and Dawlish.
•	The Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash near Plymouth: a magnificent feat of engineering which can be viewed on boat trips down the Tamar.

View of Royal Albert Bridge (Private collection)