Place Categories: Boat lifts CRT Waterway Features
Anderton Boat Lift raises and lowers boats 50 ft (15.2 m) between the River Weaver and the Trent & Mersey Canal at Anderton, near Northwich in Cheshire. Boats float into one of two water-filled caissons, which carry them between the river and an aqueduct at canal level.
It opened in 1875 and is described by Historic England as the world’s first commercially successful boat lift. Edwin Clark designed it, with Edward Leader Williams as chief engineer. It was converted to electric operation between 1906 and 1908 and closed in 1983. After restoration it reopened in 2002, working on hydraulics again.
The lift, aqueduct, basins and the buried remains of the old transhipment works are a Scheduled Monument. It is one of only two working boat lifts in the UK, with the Falkirk Wheel. A visitor centre and Anderton Nature Park are beside it. The lift is run by the Canal & River Trust.
- Waterways: Trent & Mersey Canal and River Weaver
- Opened: 26 July 1875; reopened 2002
- Rise: 50 ft (15.2 m)
- Heritage: Scheduled Monument (Historic England 1021152)
- Grid reference: SJ 6473 7523
Sources: Historic England list entry 1021152; Canal & River Trust.
Dock specification
Illustrative photo
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Address: Lift Lane, Anderton
Northwich
Cheshire
United Kingdom
Northwich
Cheshire
United Kingdom
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: Closed
Mon
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Tue
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Wed
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Thu
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Fri
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Sat
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Sun
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