Abstract: A filter press includes a plurality of plates made of a rigid material resting on a pair of parallel horizontal supports by means of lugs extending from opposite sides of the plates. The supports are attached at one end to a fixed headstock having a liquid inlet and at the other end to a hydraulic ram assembly, each plate supporting a sheet of filter material, and being mounted in a row so that they can be arranged in a first, working, configuration wherein they are all clamped together and a second, cleaning, configuration wherein there is a gap between a selected two of the plates to allow removal of residue therefrom. The filter press has a drive which operates to move the plates one by one into abutting relationship adjacent the headstock before they are clamped by the ram action and which can be reversed to separate the plates and move them one by one to positions remote from the headstock for cleaning so that the gap between any selected two of the plates is constant.