Going underground: ‘The Mole of Edge Hill’

Liverpool is renowned for its numerous innovators and eccentrics, who have carved their name in the pages of history down the years.

One such innovator, and no less of an eccentric is Joseph Williamson. His name has been surrounded in mythology and speculation for numerous years but has lived on through the legacy that surrounds his greatest work – The Williamson Tunnels.

Joseph Williamson’s name is synonymous with the tunnels, which zigzag underneath the streets and surrounding areas of the Edge Hill district of Liverpool. Unfortunately, until now Williamson’s work has been referred to fleetingly in the history of Liverpool.

Without the work of organisations such as the Friends of Williamson’s Tunnels, Williamson’s work would have remained merely a footnote in Liverpool’s history.

The FOWT have taken this a step further and are bringing the Tunnels to the surface of the consciousness of the people of Liverpool. The FOWT is a voluntary organisation and also the biggest local history society in Britain

It has certainly been a labour of love for the volunteers of the FOWT and it is without doubt that their endeavours are equal to the effort of the original workers, who excavated the tunnels in the 19th century.

August 2002 will see the culmination of years of hard work with the opening of the first phase of the tunnels to the general public. Following a major excavation and renovation exercise, two of the tunnels in the original stable yard on Smithdown Lane section of the labyrinth will be open to the public as a permanent tourist attraction.

Although some of the tunnels have been lost over the years and are unable to renovated. Many of the original tunnels still exist today under the now largely residential area of Edge Hill.

The opening will be testament to the hard work of people such as Gabriel Mews, who has lived in the Edge Hill area all his life. Gabriel Mews is one of the local residents who has pushed for the opening of the tunnels for the last six years. He and other volunteers have painstakingly been excavating the tunnels in conditions similar to that of Williamson’s day

It has been a difficult process in the renovation and excavating the site. Dave Bridson, of FOWT highlighted some of the problems faced by the Volunteer workforce,

“Illegal fly tipping has filled a majority of the tunnels. Some of it is building rubble ash and Clinker. There is a whole mix of stuff. This was the trouble when the building work started above.”

The renovation process has also faced problems due to the fact that the pattern of the tunnels follows no logical course and that there are no plans or documents in existence to guide their renovation. It has become apparent that no such plans may ever have existed. Such a document would have a shed a better light on the existence of the Tunnels.

To gain an insight and an understanding into why the tunnels where built in the first place, Its important to find out more of the life of the man whose name has been given to these tunnels and a man who spent the latter part of his life dedicated to the completion of the tunnels.

Many of the details of Williamson’s life are shrouded in mystery, and this has no doubt fuelled the fascination that has grown up surrounding the history of the tunnels.

Joseph Williamson was born on 10th March 1769. It is widely assumed that he was born in Warrington, but that has not been proven. He was born into a poor family and at the age of 11 he moved to Liverpool in search of work.

The Liverpool to which Williamson arrived in 1780 was a relatively prosperous city; due to its thriving seaport he would have had little difficulty in securing gainful employment. He eventually secured work for the tobacco and snuff firm Richard Tate, which was based in Parr Street, adjacent to Wolstenholme Square, near the city centre.

It was a family business and Williamson prospered during his time with the company and he was eventually promoted from runner to a clerk. As well as progressing through Tate’s, he also set up in partnership with Mr Joseph Leigh, as a merchant.

Williamson married Elizabeth Tate in 1802, Thomas Tate’s the sister of the owner of Tate’s. After Williamson’s inauspicious start in life he had started to reap the rewards of a working career that began at the age of 11. Things where going so well for Williamson, that a year after his marriage he bought Tate’s.

Tate’s prospered in Williamson’s ownership and the wealth generated from the success of the businesses that Williamson had built up kick started his move into property development.

The area of Edge Hill that Williamson lived at the time was pretty much under developed. Williamson built his own house on the land at Mason Street and soon after other dwellings followed. The houses that he built were very much typical of the properties of the era, with cellars and large gardens at the rear.

At the back of each of the dwellings there was a large amount of space, but the sandstone bedrock dropped about twenty feet down to the same level as Smithdown Lane. Williamson had his men build brick arches in the sandstone bedrock. The building of these arches is significant, as it was the first part of the completed Williamson Tunnels to be put in place.

From what is known of the layout of the tunnels, it is assumed that Williamson had no clear vision for the tunnels. One idea that has been put forward is that Williamson saw the building of the tunnels as something of a philanthropic gesture on his part, given the hardship that he had endured whilst he grew up. It was around the time of the Napoleonic wars that he started the tunnels as a sort of job creation scheme for soldiers returning from the wars.

Another idea that has been suggested is that he built the tunnels out of a religious fervour and the tunnels where to be a haven underground for an apocalyptic Armageddon forecast for 1841 by a mystery soothsayer.

Frank Hodges from the FOWT takes up the story.

“One of the features of the tunnels is that the brickwork is admired by people in their trade. The accepted story of why he built the tunnels was purely functional to support terrace gardens.

“Another theory is that his wife fell under the spell of a preacher in Hope Street who predicted a holocaust would hit the city. On September 1840. She persuaded Joseph to build the tunnels to provide shelter for the people of Liverpool. Until after the holocaust.”

Like most of the tales surrounding the project, stories like this have probably been exaggerated down the years. It has possibly been exaggerated that he employed thousands of workers at any one time There is no doubt a fair number of men came forward to offer their services.

It is thought that when the process of building on Mason Street was adequately staffed, that he would send the additional men into the arches to extend them by cutting into the bedrock perhaps so that they meet up with the house cellars, to provide a convenient exit to Smithdown Lane.

By the time Williamson retired and sold the tobacco firm, this gave him more time to concentrate on the ever-expanding tunnels. With unemployment rife in the city at the time, he had no other justification for the continuing of the work other than giving work to the unemployed of Liverpool.

Even on the occasions where there was not enough work to do on the tunnels Williamson would still pay and employ the men. It is believed that he would get men to move rocks from one place to another and then get them to move them back again.

In parts of the tunnels, which are accessible today, there is evidence of tunnels being built and immediately bricked up again, alongside fine arches that lead nowhere. All this was purely to keep the men busy, but perhaps Williamson was also getting satisfaction from the opulent surroundings that he was fashioning for himself.
The conditions that the workers often worked in were not easy; it was often dark, dusty, noisy, cold in winter and hot in the summer. The rock men worked with picks shovels and barrows, while the carpenters used axes and saws to build formers for the bricklayers to lay arches underground. Added to these conditions the men often worked by candlelight.

The 1830’s saw the excavation of the Liverpool to Manchester railway line underneath the Edge Hill district, through to Lime Street. It has been documented that Williamson’s tunnels met up with the team excavating the railway line much to each other’s surprise. A tunnel can be witnessed on a train journey into Liverpool Lime Street today.

It may also be the case that the men who served their apprenticeship working on Williamson’s tunnels may well have also found employment cutting the Liverpool to Manchester tunnel through the sandstone of Edge Hill.

Elizabeth Williamson died in 1822, and as a result of her death, Joseph Williamson turned his attentions, even more vehemently to the completion of his tunnels and continued his work for the rest of his life. Williamson eventually died aged 76 on 1st May 1840.

With Williamson’s death also came the end of the excavation of the Tunnels.
The project may well have died but the knowledge of the existence of the tunnels never really died. Most of the Mason Street area was demolished at the turn of the 20th century, and was replaced by the residential property that can be witnessed today. Though some of the tunnels throughout the years where quite visible down Smithdown Lane nothing constructive had been done to them since Williamson’s death.


Even after years of neglect enthusiasts have tried to raise the profile of the tunnels and this interest has culminated in the current chapter in the tunnels fascinating history. Its hard to know what Williamson’s vision was, but after years of construction building by his original workforce, together with meticulous renovation by the volunteer army of the FOWT. August 2002 will see the official opening to the public for the Williamson tunnels.

The tunnels had been expected to open in June, to coincide with the Queens visit to Liverpool, but last minute safety work to the scaffolding inside the tunnels, delayed its opening. A third of this work has now been completed thanks to the Metalworkers and fabricators from Merseyside and Manchester who donated time and materials for free. Chairman of the John Williamson Society, who will run the visitors centre said

“ We have completed the final safety checks and we are finishing off the tunnel bar, which will serve refreshments to the visitors.”


The first section of Williamson’s Tunnels to be opened will be at the old stables site on Smithdown Lane. Only part of the complex will be opened, but it does include the ‘double tunnel’ with its intricate deep workings at the end corner.

The Williamson’s Tunnels is an on going project and is reliant on financial support and other support of such as people helping excavate the site.
Now that the tunnels are near completion, the Joseph Williamson Society who run the visitors centre, are now looking for tour guides, ticket sellers and other volunteers who can help with the site.

The opening of the site is just the end of the first stage of the project. Long term plans and funding will allow the opening up of further tunnels on the stable yard site and on the other side of the railway lines in Mason Street, opposite the Banqueting Hall at Williamson’s House.

Funding for the work has come from sources including the FOWT, European Regional Development Fund, loans from Liverpool City Council and the Community Loan fund. The private sector and individual organisation have also provided sponsorship. Applications have also been, made to branches of the lottery for further assistance with building work and additional disabled recourses. Some donations have also been promised from museums across the country.

It was an entrepreneurial and philanthropic spirit, which created jobs and prosperity for the Edge Hill area of the city back in the 1800’s, this spirit, certainly lives on today. Area councillor Frank Doran, from Liverpool City Council believes that Tunnels have been good for the area and will be for some time to come,

“The Heritage Centre is a showcase of the tunnels it will attract people who will spend money, buy books and visit the city. So its inward investment into the local economy.”

After many years of rumour and intrigue the people of Liverpool and from far wide can at last see what folklore said existed, but has been unable to explain or work out why it exists. The fact that members of the public can witness this great site is testimony to the great work of the Friends of the Williamson’s Tunnels and the Joseph Williamson Society. It is also at last long last, recognition of the great work for one of Liverpool’s greatest benefactors to the unemployed of this city.

Sadly no monument exists for this man’s achievements or a grave for people to pay respects to. He sadly lies in an unmarked grave under a car park at the junction of Paradise Street and Park Lane opposite Merseyside Police Headquarters. The fact that his eccentric vision has been lovingly and pain stakingly restored is no doubt a fitting memorial for the vision of the great Joseph Williamson.