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.

[4] 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.

The Trustees approached the North Staffordshire Railway Company, owners of the Trent and Mersey Canal, to ask for a contribution towards the cost.

A similar boat lift on the Grand Western Canal, completed in 1835, used chains to connect the caissons via an overhead balance wheel.

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.

[6] In normal operation the cylinders of the hydraulic rams were connected by a 5 in (130 mm) diameter pipe that allowed water to pass between them, thus lowering the heavier caisson and raising the lighter one.

[6] 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."

[6] For five years the boat lift operated successfully, the longest closures being during spells of cold weather when the canal froze over.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[8] By 1904 the Weaver Navigation Trustees faced the prospect of closing the boat lift for a considerable period to repair the hydraulic rams.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.