The Sankey Canal, which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and the St Helens Canal, historically entirely within Lancashire is a canal now in Cheshire, extending into Merseyside, in the northwest of England, connecting St Helens with the River Mersey. When opened in 1757, it ran along the valley of the Sankey Brook from the point where the brook joined the River Mersey, to a location to the north east of St Helens. Extensions were constructed at the Mersey end of the canal, firstly to Fiddlers Ferry and then to Widnes, while at the northern end, it was extended into what became the centre of St Helens.