Museum's 40th anniversary

THIS year marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port, and to commemorate this milestone the museum is hosting a weekend of celebratory activities on 2nd and 3rd of July.

The anniversary weekend on those two days will be packed full of things to see and do including the opening of its new ‘Window on the World' experience, performances from the museum's artist in residence and the one-off chance to venture into the canal lock at the museum which will be specially drained for the replacement of two lock gates.

Step back in time

Canal & River Trust's Head of Museums, Graham Boxer, explained:

"This is a very exciting time for the volunteers and staff at the museum as we celebrate our 40th anniversary as well as opening the ‘Window on the World' project. We will be inviting visitors to step back in time, meet the characters who worked on the slipway, and explore how the historic winch would have raised boats from the Manchester Ship Canal."

Window on the World will showcase why Ellesmere Port was a ‘window on the world' with the opening of the Port's historic slipway, which was used for boat building and restoration between the 1840s and the 1920s. The Leeds & Liverpool Canal short boat George is being rebuilt, and a grant of over £50,000 from the Wolfson Foundation has funded the preservation of the Mersey flat Mossdale.