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One of the designs made by one of England's greatest engineers opened this year. It was the Clifton Suspension bridge across the River Avon and had been designed in 1831 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Sadly Brunel had suffered a stroke and died on 15 September 1859 so didn't live to see his creation finished.
Many of Brunel's designs are still around today. Isambard's father was a French engineer who ran away from France when the revolution began in 1789. Isambard's first achievement was when, working with his father, they planned a tunnel under the River Thames, from Rotherhithe to Wapping. The plans were finished in 1825 and the tunnel was completed in 1844 and is still in use today.
However, the work for which he is best remembered is the assortment of tunnels, bridges and viaducts on the Great Western Railway, the line that linked London with the west coast of England. Many of the features he designed are also still in use today. Perhaps his most famous bridge is the one across the River Tamar that joins Cornwall with Devon.
Most of the actual work was done by workmen called navvies. You may remember them from the time England was building loads of canals. They got their name from the fact that originally the canals were called Navigations, hence the navvies who built them. They helped to construct the railway lines all over the country.
Building a tunnel could last up to 5 years. A small village would spring up near the entrance and the navvies who had families would live there. Shops were built and it became a little community. In some places the women and children would find work in nearby mills or factories.
I found a typical food list for a navvy:-
Breakfast: 6 slices of bacon, 2 pints of beer, a can of condensed milk, a loaf of bread and a cup of tea
Early elevenses: pint of beer
Late elevenses: pint of beer, bread and butter
Lunch: steak, loaf of bread, 2 pints of beer
Late lunch: pint of beer
Snack: loaf of bread, pint of beer
Dinner: steak, boiled potatoes, loaf of bread, 2 pints of beer and cup of tea.
It's just a guess but it may have been thirsty work.
By the way some say the word “tramp” comes from this time as the navvies would tramp around the country looking for work.
Brunel also designed ships. “The Great Western” which was launched in 1837 was the first steamship to regularly cross the Atlantic. In 1843 the “Great Britain” was launched and this was the world's first ship built with an iron hull, powered by steam and using a screw propeller. “The Great Eastern” which hit the water this year was the biggest ship ever built at the time but not particularly successful.
It will be interesting to see, although I doubt if I will, whether engineering works done in my early life are still around at the end of this century.
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