Ellesmere Port

Oil port and industrial town in Cheshire, northwest England, on the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, 11 km/7 mi north of Chester; population (2001) 74,800. Industries include engineering and the manufacture of petroleum products (Shell), cars (Vauxhall), chemicals, car engines, and paper.

Formerly the biggest transhipment canal port in northwest England, it now contains the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum (opened 1976) which traces the history of canals, with many old narrow boats and a blacksmith's forge.

History The Shropshire Union Canal, developed to transport iron-ore from the Furness peninsula to the West Midlands, and china clay to the Potteries, reached Ellesmere Port in 1795. A variety of industries were later established, including metal processing, dyestuffs, flour-milling, and paper. From 1894 the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal led to further growth.

The Gowy river marshes, now the site of a large oil refinery at Stanlow, were drained by prisoners during World War I.