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
Sophia Kingdom Sophia Kingdom Sophia Kingdom, Lady Brunel (c. 1775 – 1855) was the daughter of William Kingdom, a contracting agent for the Royal Navy, and the army. She was born in Plymouth, England. She was the youngest of sixteen children. When she was eight years old, her father William died (1783). Sophia was sent to France to improve her knowledge of the language. While working there as a governess she met Marc Isambard Brunel (1769–1849) at Rouen in the early 1790s. In 1793, Brunel had to flee the revolution, going to the United States, but Sophia remained in Rouen. During the