Final photo taken of Brunel revealed on the 160th anniversary of his death

It has been exactly 160 years since Bristol's beloved engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel died at the age of 53.

Brunel had suffered a stroke on September 5, 1859, following news of an explosion on board the SS Great Eastern.

A rare stereoscopic photograph, taken on September 5 1859 - moments before that fatal stroke - shows a man almost unrecognisable from his iconic, ruthless image.

Brunel stands on board the Great Eastern, his third and final ship, before its maiden voyage, leaning heavily on his walking stick for support.

The image is the final photograph taken of Brunel, days before he died. He is poised on the SS Great Eastern in 1859, leaning heavily on his walking stick for support. (SS Great Britain Trust)

There is a slight puffiness to his face and fingers, and he already looks like a sick man.

Indeed, towards midday, he suffered a fit of paralysis and was taken back to his home in Duke Street.

This was to be the last photograph of the great engineer.

Nick Booth, head of collections at Brunel’s SS Great Britain, said: “When we think of Brunel it’s easy to conjure him in his prime, a resolute and tireless engineer hurrying about his business of building railways, tunnels and ships.

"It’s much harder to imagine him as a worn, exhausted, and sick man suffering from Bright’s disease, but in 1859 this was very much the case”.

Voted the second Greatest Briton of all time, after Winston Churchill, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was one of the 19th century engineering giants.

His achievements, many of which are still part of our everyday lives and landscape, are a lasting testament to his far-sighted genius.

First look at Bristol's new Brunel Museum

To celebrate the life of Britain’s greatest engineer, Brunel’s SS Great Britain will be dressing their iconic site in keeping with conventions of traditional Victorian mourning.

And today (Sunday), exactly 160 years since Brunel’s death, visitors to the SS Great Britain will see Brunel’s regulator clock stopped at exactly 10:30pm to mark the time of his death, his portrait draped in black crepe (a fabric traditionally used in Victorian mourning dress), along with the covering of the mirror outside his Duke Street office, as a mark of respect.

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