East End of London clearance. Industries associated with the sea developed throughout the East End, including rope making and shipbuilding. The former location of roperies can still be identified from their long straight, narrow profile in the modern streets, for instance Ropery Street near Mile End. Shipbuilding was important from the time when Henry VIII caused ships to be built at Rotherhithe as a part of his expansion of the Royal Navy. On 31 January 1858, the largest ship of that time, the SS Great Eastern, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was launched from the yard of Messrs Scott Russell & Co, of Millwall.
Marc Isambard Brunel Marc Isambard Brunel Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-born engineer who settled in England. He was married to Sophia Kingdom in 1799. In 1806 their son Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born. Marc Isambard himself preferred the name Isambard, but is generally known to history as Marc to avoid confusion with his more famous son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. His most famous achievement was the construction of the Thames Tunnel. Brunel was the second son of Jean Charles Brunel and Marie Victoire Lefebvre. Jean Charles was a prosperous farmer in Hacqueville, Normandy, and Marc