The construction of the Manchester Ship Canal was one of the great engineering feats of the nineteenth century. Fifty-five miles from the open sea, it was the first time an inland city was transformed into a major port servicing the world.
The story of the Canal's construction is one of great entrepreneurial endeavour. Between 1887 and 1894, 54 million cubic yards were excavated to create a canal 35 miles long and 26 feet deep and rising over 60 feet through five sets of locks. Its opening, in 1894, not only established the Port of Manchester but also led to the creation of the world's first industrial estate at Trafford Park and a concentration of engineering, commercial and financial businesses which made Manchester the greatest industrial city of its time.
Today, the volume of traffic might have decreased but a journey along the Canal still offers a fascinating perspective on one of the greatest achievements of the Industrial Revolution.