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Anderton Boat Lift

by Alec and Val Scaresbrook

The Anderton boat lift is unique in Britain and quite a sight since it's been restored to its full glory after years of semi-dereliction. Find it by taking the road on your left once in Anderton village. Cross the canal footbridge, from where you'll have a good view of the top of lift and the River Weaver below.

The need for a boat lift came about as a result of the Weaver Navigation trustees refusing to co-operate with the canal builders. Eventually, common sense prevailed and thought was put into the transfer of boats and their loads from one waterway to the other. These came closest together at Anderton, although there was the problem of a 50ft (15m) difference in levels.

The lift was developed to move barges and long boats between the river and canal in massive water tanks supported on hydraulic cylinders and pistons. The original lift was completed in 1875 and eliminated the need for cargoes to be manhandled. The lift was a great success, but the polluted canal water caused corrosion inside the cylinders and in 1906, the lift was rebuilt, over the top of the original structure and using part of it. The new lift used gears and pulleys instead of hydraulics and continued to be used by leisure traffic once commercial traffic ceased in the 1960s. But in 1982, structural faults were found and the lift had to be closed. Finally restoration funds were found and the lift re-opened in 2002. See the map below