History of the Manchester Ship Canal

Built to allow sea going vessels access to Manchester via the Mersey, the Ship Canal was opened by Queen Victoria in 1894. The construction of the Ship Canal was arguably the greatest engineering project of Victorian times; it succeeded in making Manchester one of the major ports of the world and contributed immeasurably to the renewed prosperity of the area. Built in the face of opposition from both railway companies and the City of Liverpool, the canal, on 11 November, 1887, the first sod was cut and the 'Big Ditch', as the Canal was affectionately known, was underway.