"Completion of the River Weaver Navigation in 1734 provided a navigable route for transporting salt from Winsford, through Northwich, to Frodsham, where the Weaver joins the River Mersey.
The opening of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1777 provided a second route close to the Weaver Navigation for part of its length, but extended further south to the coal mining and pottery industries around Stoke-on-Trent.
Rather than competing with each other, the owners of the two waterways decided it would be more profitable to work together. In 1793 a basin was excavated on the north bank of the Weaver at Anderton that took the river to the foot of the escarpment of the canal, 50 ft (15.2 m) above. The Anderton Basin was owned and operated by the Weaver Navigation Trustees. Facilities were built to trans-ship goods between the waterways, including two cranes, two salt chutes and an inclined plane that was possibly inspired by the much larger Hay Inclined Plane at Coalport. The facilities were extended when a second quay was built in 1801 and a second entrance to the basin was constructed in 1831.
By 1870 the Anderton Basin was a major interchange for trans-shipping goods in both directions, with extensive warehousing, three double inclined planes and four salt chutes. Trans-shipment was time-consuming and expensive, and the Trustees of the Weaver Navigation decided a link between the waterways was needed to allow boats to pass directly from one to the other.
Chief Engineer, Edward Leader Williams, drew up plans for a boat lift. He settled on a design involving a pair of water-filled caissons that would counterbalance one another and require relatively little power to lift boats up and down.
Having decided on a hydraulic ram design, Leader Williams appointed Edwin Clark as principal designer. At that time the Anderton Basin consisted of a cut on the north bank of the Weaver surrounding a small central island. Clark decided to build the boat lift on this island. The wrought iron caissons were 75 ft (22.9 m) long by 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) wide by 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) deep, and could each accommodate two 72 ft (21.9 m) narrowboats or a barge with a beam of up to 13 feet (4.0 m). Each caisson weighed 90 tons when empty and 252 tons when full of water (because of displacement, the weight is the same with or without boats). Each caisson was supported by a single hydraulic ram consisting of a hollow 50 ft (15.2 m) long cast iron vertical piston with a diameter of 3 ft (0.9 m), in a buried 50 ft (15.2 m) long cast iron vertical cylinder with a diameter of 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m). At river level the caissons sat in a water-filled sandstone lined chamber. Above ground the superstructure consisted of seven hollow cast iron columns which provided guide rails for the caissons and supported an upper working platform, walkways and access staircase. At the upper level the boat lift was connected to the Trent and Mersey canal via a 165 ft (50.3 m) long wrought iron aqueduct, with vertical wrought iron gates at either end.
The Anderton Boat Lift was formally opened to traffic on 26 July 1875. The total cost was £48,428 (£4,114,000 at today's prices)."
The use of river water in the system led to multiple corrosion problems which were only slightly improved when they started to use distilled water. Between 1904 and 1908 the mechanism of the lift was changed to use electric motors and a system of counterweights and overhead pulleys that would allow the caissons to operate independently of each other.
"As the weight of the caissons and counterweights would now be borne by the lift superstructure instead of by the rams, the superstructure was strengthened and put on stronger foundations. The new superstructure was built around the original lift frame in order to avoid the need to dismantle the original lift.
After conversion to electrical operation the boat lift was operated successfully for 75 years. Regular maintenance was still necessary; for example, the wire ropes supporting the caissons suffered from fatigue from the repeated bending and straightening as they ran over the overhead pulleys and had to be replaced frequently. However, maintenance was simpler than before the conversion because the mechanism of the electrical lift was above ground.
During the 1950s and 1960s commercial traffic on British canals declined. By the 1970s the lift's traffic was almost entirely recreational and the lift was hardly used during winter months.
The new superstructure was susceptible to corrosion and the entire lift was painted with a protective solution of tar and rubber that had to be renewed every eight years or so. During repainting in 1983 extensive corrosion was found in the superstructure, and it was declared structurally unsound and closed.
During the 1990s British Waterways carried out preliminary investigations before launching a restoration bid. It was originally intended to restore the lift to electrical operation but after consultation with English Heritage, in 1997 it was decided to restore the lift to hydraulic operation using hydraulic oil.
To raise the £7 million restoration cost, a partnership was forged between the Waterways Trust, the Inland Waterways Association, the Anderton Boat Lift Trust, the Friends of Anderton Boat Lift, the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs, British Waterways and the Trent and Mersey Canal Society. Heritage Lottery Funding contributed £3.3 million, and more than 2,000 individuals contributed to the scheme, raising a further £430,000.
Restoration commenced in 2000 and the lift was re-opened to boat traffic in March 2002. The site now includes a two-storey visitor centre and exhibition building with a coffee shop and information and films about the history of the lift. The visitor centre incorporates the new lift control centre. Although a modified version of the original hydraulic system was reinstated, the 1906–08 external frame and pulleys have been retained in a non-operational role. The weights that used to counterbalance the caissons were not rehung, but have been used to build a maze in the grounds of the visitor centre."
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The boat lift is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance.
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The text of the Institute of Mechanical Engineer's plaque is as follows.
Institute of Mechanical Engineers
ENGINEERING
HERITAGE AWARD
Anderton Boat Lift
The world's oldest operational boat lift
Designed by Edwin Clarke and opened in 1875 to
raise boats 50 feet from the River Weaver to the
Trent & Mersey Canal using hydraulic power.
Later converted to electric drive, it was restored
to hydraulic operation in 2002 and continues
to provide a navigable link between the
two waterways.
21 March 2014
Improving the world through engineering