Anderton Boat Lift awarded £574k for urgent repairs

The Anderton Boat Lift was built in 1875 and was the first structure of its kind in Britain

Britain's oldest boat lift has received a £574,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant towards essential repairs.

The Anderton Boat Lift in Northwich, Cheshire, needs its hydraulics and computer system repairing, the Canal and River Trust (CRT) said.

The lift on the Trent and Mersey Canal was built by Edwin Clarke in 1875.

Historic England, which backed the Canal & River Trust's application for funding, said the structure was an "extraordinary feat of engineering".

The lift, which is known as "Cathedral of the Canals", takes boats and barges 50ft (15m) from the River Weaver Navigation to the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Hailed as of the "Seven Wonders of the Waterways", it was in operation for more than 100 years until 1983 when it closed due to corrosion.

The structure is one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways, says Historic England

The lift reopened to the public in 2002 after a multi-million pound restoration but has been out of action since August last year due to the failure of a safety mechanism.

Andrew Davison, inspector of Ancient Monuments at Historic England, which supported the Canal & River Trust's application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said the boat was an "extraordinary feat of engineering, an outstanding product of Victorian technical ability and ingenuity".

"There is no substitute for seeing it in operation or experiencing sitting on a boat which is being lifted or lowered between the canal and the river."

Rebecca Mason, enterprise manager at the Canal & River Trust, said they were "thrilled" to be awarded this development phase grant.

She said the trust would work closely with partners and stakeholders including Historic England over the next 18 months "to ensure we can submit a really robust second-round application to the lottery in 2024".

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