The Anderton Boat Lift is a two caisson lift lock near the village of

Anderton Anderton may refer to: People *Anderton (surname) *The Anderton baronets of England Places *Anderton with Marbury, Cheshire *Anderton, Cornwall Anderton is a settlement in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, located at . There are als ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, in

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

. It provides a vertical link between two navigable waterways: the

River Weaver The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included ...

and the

Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...

. The structure is designated as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, and is included in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

; it is also known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways. Built in 1875, the

boat lift A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock. It may be vertically moving, like the Anderton boat lift in England, rotational, like ...

was in use for over 100 years until it was closed in 1983 due to corrosion. Restoration started in 2001 and the boat lift was re-opened in 2002. The lift and associated visitor centre and exhibition are operated by the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

. It is one of only two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom; the other is the

Falkirk Wheel The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part o ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Economic background

Salt has been extracted from rock salt beds underneath the

Cheshire Plain The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland within the county of Cheshire in North West England but extending south into Shropshire. It extends from the Mersey Valley in the north to the Shropshire Hills in the south, bounded b ...

since

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times. By the end of the 17th century a major salt mining industry had developed around the Cheshire "salt towns" of

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

Middlewich Middlewich is a town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, east of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,595. ...

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

and

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industry ...

. Completion of the River Weaver Navigation in 1734 provided a navigable route for transporting salt from Winsford, through Northwich, to

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...

, where the Weaver joins the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

. In 1759 the second Weaver Navigation Act appointed the Trustees of the Weaver Navigation and gave them responsibility for maintaining and operating the route. 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 Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

. 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 – 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 The Hay Inclined Plane is a canal inclined plane in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, with a height of . It was located at the end of the Shropshire Canal, part of a network of canals that linked the industrial region of east Shropshire with ...

Coalport Coalport is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located on the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, a mile downstream of Ironbridge. It lies predominantly on the north bank of the river; on the other side is Jackfield. The settlement was ...

. The facilities were extended when a second quay was built in 1801 and a second entrance to the basin was constructed in 1831.

Planning and design

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. A flight of

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

was considered but discarded, mainly because of the lack of a suitable site and the loss of water that would have resulted from using them. In 1870 the Trustees proposed a boat lift between the waterways at the Anderton Basin. The Trustees approached the North Staffordshire Railway Company, owners of the Trent and Mersey Canal, to ask for a contribution towards the cost. When this approach was unsuccessful the Trustees decided to fund the project themselves. Anderton Boat Lift Diagram 1

The Trustees asked their Chief Engineer,

Edward Leader Williams Sir Edward Leader Williams (28 April 1828 – 1 January 1910) was an English civil engineer, chiefly remembered as the designer of the Manchester Ship Canal, but also heavily involved in other canal projects in north Cheshire. Early life ...

, to draw 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. A similar boat lift on the

Grand Western Canal The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Land ...

, completed in 1835, used chains to connect the caissons via an overhead balance wheel. It had a solid masonry superstructure to support the weight of the loaded caissons. Leader Williams realised that if he used water-filled

hydraulic rams A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one " hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device uses the water hammer e ...

to support the caissons their weight would be borne by the rams and their cylinders, buried underground and a much lighter superstructure could be used. He may have been inspired by inspecting a hydraulic

ship lift A shiplift is a modern alternative for a slipway, a floating dry dock or a graving dry dock. A shiplift is used to dry dock and launch ships. It consists of a structural platform that is lifted and lowered exactly vertically, synchronously by ...

and

graving dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

at the

Royal Victoria Dock The Royal Victoria Dock is the largest of three docks in the Royal Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands. History Although, the structure was in place in the year 1850, it was opened in 1855, on a previously uninhabit ...

in London, designed by experienced hydraulic engineer Edwin Clark. 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 Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

caissons were long by wide by deep, and could each accommodate two

narrowboat A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commerc ...

s or a barge with a beam of up to . Each caisson weighed when empty and when full of water (because of

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

, the weight is the same with or without boats). Each caisson was supported by a single hydraulic ram consisting of a hollow long

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

vertical piston with a diameter of , in a buried long cast iron vertical cylinder with a diameter of . 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 long wrought iron aqueduct, with vertical wrought iron gates at either end. In normal operation the cylinders of the hydraulic rams were connected by a diameter pipe that allowed water to pass between them, thus lowering the heavier caisson and raising the lighter one. To make adjustments at the start and end of a lift either cylinder could be operated independently, powered by an accumulator or pressure vessel at the top of the lift structure, which was kept primed by a steam engine. If necessary, the steam engine and accumulator could operate either hydraulic ram independently to raise the caissons, although in this mode it took about 30 minutes to raise a caisson, as opposed to three minutes in normal operation.

Construction

In October 1871 the Weaver Navigation Trustees held a special general meeting which resolved "to consider the desirability of constructing a lift with basins and all other requisite works for the interchange of traffic between the River Weaver and the North Staffordshire Canal at Anderton and of applying to Parliament for an Act to authorise the construction of such works." In July 1872 Royal Assent was granted for the Weaver Navigation 1872 Act, which authorised the construction of the boat lift. The contract for its construction was awarded to Emmerson, Murgatroyd & Co. of

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Work started before the end of 1872 and took 30 months. The Anderton Boat Lift was formally opened to traffic on 26 July 1875. The total cost was £48,428 (£ at today's prices).

Problems of hydraulic operation

For five years the boat lift operated successfully, the longest closures being during spells of cold weather when the canal froze over. In 1882 a cast iron hydraulic cylinder burst while the caisson it supported was at canal level with a boat in it. The caisson descended rapidly, but water escaping from the burst cylinder slowed the rate of descent and the water-filled dock at river level softened the impact. No-one was hurt and there was no damage to the lift's superstructure. As a precaution, tests were carried out on the second hydraulic cylinder. During these tests the second cylinder failed too. As a result the boat lift was closed for six months while sections of both cylinders were replaced and the connecting pipework, which was thought to have contributed to their failure, was redesigned. The volume of traffic through the lift grew steadily through the 1880s and 90s but the hydraulic cylinders continued to cause problems. The gland of one cylinder (where the piston travelled through the cylinder wall) was temporarily repaired in 1887 and replaced in 1891, and the gland of the other cylinder was replaced in 1894. The main cause for concern was corrosion of the pistons. The use of canal water as a working fluid in the hydraulic system and the immersion of the pistons in the wet dock at river level led to corrosion and "grooving" of the pistons. Attempts to repair the grooves with copper made matters worse as it reacted electrolytically with the acidic canal water and hastened corrosion of the surrounding iron. In 1897 the lift was converted to use distilled water as its working fluid, slowing corrosion, but not stopping it completely. Over the next few years maintenance and repairs took place with increasing frequency, requiring complete closure of the lift for several weeks or a period of reduced and slower operation with a single caisson.

Conversion to electrical operation

By 1904 the Weaver Navigation Trustees faced the prospect of closing the boat lift for a considerable period to repair the hydraulic rams. They asked their Chief Engineer Colonel J. A. Saner, to investigate alternatives to hydraulic operation. Saner proposed electric motors and a system of counterweights and overhead pulleys that would allow the caissons to operate independently of each other. Although this solution involved many more moving parts than the hydraulic system these would be above ground and accessible thus making maintenance easier and cheaper and have a longer working life. Other advantages of the conversion listed by Saner included a reduction in the number of operating attendants by one and the avoidance of costly boiler repairs. Saner promised to achieve the conversion with only three short periods of closure to traffic. This was important because it minimised disruption to traffic and the loss of revenue during conversion. Anderton Boat Lift Diagram 2

As a result, the weight of the caissons and counterweights would now be borne by the lift superstructure instead of by the rams. The superstructure was therefore 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, which would have taken it out of service for a long period. The new superstructure consisted of ten steel A-frames, five on each side, supporting a machinery deck 60 ft (18 m) above the river level where the electric motors, drive shafts and cast-iron headgear pulleys were mounted. Wire ropes attached to both sides of each caisson passed over the pulleys to 36 cast iron counterweights weighing each, 18 on each side to balance the weight of each loaded caisson. The electric motor had to overcome friction between the pulleys and their bearings. A motor was installed, but normal operation only required about half of this power. In addition to the new foundations and superstructure, the wet dock at river level was also converted into a dry dock and the aqueduct between the lift and the canal was strengthened. The original caissons were retained but were modified to take the wire ropes that now supported them on each side. Conversion was carried out between 1906 and 1908. As Saner had promised, the lift was only closed for three periods during these two years, for a total of 49 days. The converted lift was formally opened on 29 July 1908 (although one caisson had been carrying traffic on electrical power since May 1908 while the second caisson was converted).

Operation after conversion

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. Maintenance was also less expensive because the caissons were now designed to be run independently, allowing most maintenance to be carried out while one caisson remained operational and thus avoiding the need to close the lift entirely. During 1941 and 1942 the hydraulic rams of the original lift, which had been left in place in a shaft beneath the dry dock, were removed to salvage the iron. 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. In 1983, during repainting, extensive corrosion was found in the superstructure and it was declared structurally unsound and closed.

Restoration

During the 1990s

British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland ...

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 English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, in 1997 it was decided to restore the lift to hydraulic operation using

hydraulic oil A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backhoe ...

. To raise the £7 million restoration cost, a partnership was forged between the

Waterways Trust The Waterways Trust was an independent registered charity, established in 1999, that worked with partners to see the waterway network in England, Wales and Scotland supported, valued and enjoyed by a wide audience. The Trust was formerly registe ...

, the

Inland Waterways Association The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations. Not ...

, the

Anderton Boat Lift Trust The Anderton Boat Lift is a two Caisson (engineering)#Boat lift caissons, caisson lift lock near the village of Anderton with Marbury, Anderton, Cheshire, in North West England. It provides a vertical link between two navigable waterways: the R ...

, the Friends of Anderton Boat Lift, the

Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs The Association of Waterways Cruising clubs is a waterway society and umbrella organisation in England, UK. It was founded in the early 1960s by the St Pancras, Dunstable, Uxbridge and Lee and Stort boat clubs as an inter-club scheme for an emerg ...

, British Waterways and the Trent and Mersey Canal Society.

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

ing 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. File:Anderton Boat Lift 2.jpg, View of the restored boat lift from canal level. File:Boat Lift.jpg, Canal boat entering the River Weaver from the base of the boat lift. File:The exhibition building at Anderton Boat Lift.jpg, Modern Anderton Boat Lift visitor centre and exhibition building.

References

External links

Anderton Boat Lift
- Canal & River Trust * {{Coord, 53.2728, -2.5305, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Official Website for the trustLiverpool Echo article, 26 March 2002, £7m Lift for 19th century wonderThe Independent, London, 27 March 2002 Uplifting experience as 'Eiffel Tower of waterways' reopensBritish Waterways publication Waterfront, re-opening of Anderton Boat LiftBritish Waterways publication Waterfront, Successful first season for Anderton Boat Lift

ANDERTON BOAT LIFT LASER SCANNING SURVEY AND 3D BIM MODEL
Boat lifts Trent and Mersey Canal Buildings and structures in Cheshire Transport in Cheshire Scheduled monuments in Cheshire Museums in Cheshire Canal museums in England