# Canonical recap data for Manchester Ship Canal Opens (1894)
# Source: https://recap.at/1894/manchester-ship-canal
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: manchester-ship-canal
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1894/manchester-ship-canal"
title: Manchester Ship Canal Opens
subtitle: This 36-mile artificial waterway transformed Manchester into a major international port and exemplified Victorian engineering ambition.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1894-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1894
decade: 1890
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in North West England that links Manchester to the Irish Sea. Beginning in the Mersey estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshir
summaryLong: The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in North West England that links Manchester to the Irish Sea. Beginning in the Mersey estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire before terminating to the east of Salford Quays near Pomona Docks and a junction with the Bridgewater Canal where it meets the Irwell. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 ft (18 m) to the canal's terminus in Manchester. Landmarks along its route include the Barton Swing Aqueduct – the world's only swing aqueduct – and Trafford Park, the world's first planned industrial estate and one of the largest in Europe.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Tanker_ship_canal.jpg/1280px-Tanker_ship_canal.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Manchester Ship Canal"
importance: 72
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal"
  title: Manchester Ship Canal
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- tech-launch
metaDescription: The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in North West England that links Manchester to the Irish Sea. Beginning in the Mersey estuar
wikidataQid: Q935570
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260519145529/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-19
  label: Manchester Ship Canal
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal"
