One of the most significant ships of the 19th century, the Great Western ocean-going paddle steamer was designed by celebrated British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and was his attempt to produce a steam ship capable of making regular Atlantic steam crossings, without any reliance on wind power.

Cleverly though, Brunel did include sails in his design, as this stabilised the ship in rough seas and ensured maximum efficiency from the two mighty steam powered paddles.

When Great Western was launched in 1837, she was not only the largest passenger ship in the world, but was also packed with technologies and innovations which would be used in ship design for many years to come.