Marc Isambard Brunel
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Sir Marc Isambard Brunel was a French-British engineer who is most famous for the work he did in Britain. He constructed the Thames Tunnel, the world's first underwater tunnel, and was the father of I
Portrait of Marc Isambard Brunel by James Northcote, 1813
Bust of Marc Isambard Brunel, Science Museum, London
English Heritage blue plaque at 98 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London
One multiple- and one single-sheave pulley block for rigging on a sailing ship
Portsmouth Block Mills
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The Portsmouth Block Mills form part of the Portsmouth Dockyard at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and were built during the Napoleonic Wars to supply the British Royal Navy with pulley blocks. They s
Marc Isambard Brunel
…approached Samuel Bentham, the Inspector General of Naval Works. In April 1802 Bentham recommended the installation of Brunel's block-making machinery at Portsmouth Block Mills. Brunel's machine could be operated by unskilled workers, at ten times the previous rate of production. Altogether 45 machines were installed at…
The exterior of the Block Mills in October 2022
Interior of the Block Mills, showing the overhead belt drive system used to power the manufacturing machinery designed and patented by Marc Isambard Brunel.
A wooden block
Some of Brunel's machines are preserved in the Science Museum in London (also see below).