New Brunel attraction in Bristol gets £4.5m in lottery funding

The new £7.1m attraction is set to open alongside the ss Great Britain in Bristol in 2017

More than £4.5m has been awarded to the ss Great Britain Trust for an Isambard Kingdom Brunel museum in Bristol.

The £7.1m attraction, set to open alongside the ss Great Britain in 2017, will display Brunel's personal papers and possessions for the first time.

Brunel's office, where plans for the ss Great Britain were drawn up, will also be restored as part of the project.

Rhian Tritton, from the trust, said the funding allows them "to tell the story of Brunel in the way it deserves".

More than 14,000 items, pulled from the University of Bristol's Brunel Collection, along with thousands of artefacts from a private collector are due to go on show at the new "Being Brunel" museum.

Among the personal posessions due to go on display, is an 1812 drawing of a horse created by the engineer at the age of six

Among the "never-before-seen" documents and personnel possessions will be Brunel's "last cigar", his sketchbooks and a drawing of a horse created by the engineer at the age of six.

"We've got the most significant collection of Brunel material in public hands anywhere in the world" said Ms Tritton.

"We have a hugely important private collection as well and that collection contains some of the most resonant private possessions of Brunel."

Following the Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF) award, the trust still needs to raise an additional £670,000 to complete the project.

Due to launch Easter 2017, the new museum is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors annually.