Isambard Kingdom Brunel to design Brunel Manor and its gardens to be his country home. He never saw the house or gardens finished, as he died before it was completed. Brunel, a heavy smoker, who had been diagnosed with Bright's disease (nephritis), suffered a stroke on 5 September 1859, just before the "Great Eastern" made her first voyage to New York. He died ten days later at the age of 53 and was buried, like his father, in Kensal Green Cemetery in London. He left behind his wife Mary and three children: Isambard Brunel Junior (1837–1902), Henry Marc Brunel (1842–1903) and Florence Mary
Steamship before by F. P. Smith's Propeller Steamship Company. Brunel had been looking into methods of improving the performance of "Great Britain"s paddlewheels, and took an immediate interest in the new technology, and Smith, sensing a prestigious new customer for his own company, agreed to lend "Archimedes" to Brunel for extended tests. Over several months, Smith and Brunel tested a number of different propellers on "Archimedes" in order to find the most efficient design, a four-bladed model submitted by Smith. When launched in 1843, "Great Britain" was by far the largest vessel afloat. Brunel's last major project, the , was built