National Waterways Museum

National Waterways Museum
National Waterways Museum
Location within Cheshire
Former name
National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port
The Boat Museum
North West Museum of Inland Navigation
Established1970s
LocationEllesmere Port, Cheshire, England
Coordinates53°17′17″N 2°53′31″W / 53.288°N 2.892°W / 53.288; -2.892
OwnerThe Canal & River Trust
WebsiteNational Waterways Museum

The National Waterways Museum (NWM) is a transport museum, at Ellesmere Port in the English county of Cheshire, which concentrates on the history of Britain's navigable inland waterways. Until 2010, the Waterways Trust operated three sites, including this one, under the name National Waterways Museum. In that year, the site at Gloucester was renamed the Gloucester Waterways Museum and the site at Stoke Bruerne became The Canal Museum.

The Ellesmere Port museum is situated at the northern end of the Shropshire Union Canal where it meets the Manchester Ship Canal (grid reference SJ406771). The NWM's collections and archives focus on the Britain's navigable inland waterways, including its rivers and canals, and include canal boats, traditional clothing, painted canal decorative ware and tools. It is one of several museums and attractions operated by the Canal & River Trust, the successor to The Waterways Trust.