The NWM site occupies the former Netherpool port that was designed by Thomas Telford, under the direction of William Jessop, for the ill-fated Ellesmere Canal.

The proposed waterway in England and Wales was planned to carry commercial traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn.

The NWM's historic buildings are all that remain of the inland port that transferred goods and cargo from narrowboats onto rivercraft that would then sail to the docks at Liverpool.

However, by 1805 work had stalled because of rising costs and the failure to generate the expected income from commercial boat traffic.

The plans to build the remaining southern section to the Shrewsbury Canal and the connection between Pontcysyllte and Chester were abandoned.

During the winter of 2008–2009, opening hours were cut at Gloucester and Ellesmere Port to just two days per week in an effort to manage a tough financial situation.

Visitors to the Ellesmere Port site can see boats, in the care of a national museum, sunken into the water or kept afloat by automatic pumps.

However, the initiative to create a heritage boatyard, with lottery and other funding, has spurred a revival in the NWM's fortunes and work on addressing the areas of maintenance is now taking place.

Two boats, Ilkeston and Ferret, are sponsored by the London Canal Museum, which contributes annually to the cost of their maintenance.