Between them, our three museums are home to Britain's Inland Waterways Collection. Designated as being of national and international importance, the collection includes some 5,000 items, 40,000 records and 80 historic boats.
These artefacts chart the history of our waterways and in particular include many items from the heyday of canals, from the late 18th to the mid 19th century.
The National Waterways Museum preserves and interprets the collection, which includes a wide variety of items, ranging in size from from canal tokens, bonnets and painted ware to concrete barges, cranes and engines.
We are unable to display all the collection at any one time and the reserve collection is kept in controled conditions at the museums in Gloucester and Ellesmere Port.
Find out more about the collection at each museum by clicking on the links below;
