What secrets are hidden under the underground labyrinth built near Liverpool by an eccentric "philanthropist"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The Williamson Tunnels remain one of Liverpool's most intriguing mysteries. They were built two centuries ago by the city's greatest eccentric, Joseph Williamson. In the early 19th century, this wealthy merchant hired an army of people to dig a labyrinth that stretches for miles beneath the city. What secrets are hidden in the underworld of these tunnels and why were they created?

Joseph Williamson was born into a very poor family of glass blowers in Warrington. When he was eleven years old, poverty forced him to leave home and start working. The boy got a job with a tobacco merchant, Richard Tate in Liverpool. Joseph worked very hard and hard, was accepted into the ranks of the company, and later married Tate's daughter and bought out his father-in-law's company.

In 1805, when Williamson was thirty-six years old, he acquired land in Edge Hill. At the time, it was a rough, sandy wasteland dotted with shallow pits left over from sandstone mining. He began to develop these lands on the sly. Initially, Joseph built a large, spacious house for himself and his wife. After that, he laid out beautiful gardens throughout the area of his possessions and built many new houses.

Land around the houses began to sink, and to support the gardens, Williamson built arched terraces over which the gardens were extended. Eventually, for reasons unknown, Williamson began digging the ground, creating a network of tunnels under his property that extended all the way to and possibly beyond the borders of his land.

19th-century Liverpool historian James Stonehouse took a short trip through part of the maze after Williamson's death in 1840. He described it as "a strange place" with "vaulted passages carved out of solid rock" and beautifully crafted arches "unsupported by anything." Stonehouse talked about the huge basements under the buildings, which passed in several levels, sometimes up to six. He also told about the mysterious huge caves deep underground. The most famous of these is called Williamson's Banquet Hall.

The numerous basements and caves were linked by an intricate series of tunnels that varied greatly in size and design, from small passages carved into the rocks, just enough for a man to squeeze through, to large vaulted tunnels.

After Williamson's death, the tunnels were no longer used. The lack of care and maintenance has turned them into a rather dangerous place. The tunnels are also used as a landfill for waste, and when heavy rains come, they are flooded and deep pits filled with sewage are formed. These are just huge cesspools with foul-smelling water. Once there was a tragic incident - a woman fell into one of these pits and drowned.

It happens that the authorities demolish a building, and it all goes underground, because under it, as it turned out, there is a tunnel. Gradually, most of the labyrinth was completely buried. Now they are practically inaccessible. But they have not completely disappeared. In addition, the history of their creation was overgrown with stories and real legends of local folklore.

It is believed that Williamson built these tunnels in order to provide jobs and income for the local poor. At that time, there were many unemployed men in Liverpool returning from the war against Napoleon. It is said that Williamson often burdened workers with useless labor, such as moving a pile of stones from one place to another and then back again. Then he could say to dig a tunnel and lay the entrance. Locals say that many of Williamson's workers later found good jobs, thanks to the construction skills they received from the weirdo Williamson.

Scientists from Edge Hill University put forward the version that the goals of the merchant were not so noble. Perhaps this is how he concealed the illegal mining of sandstone to supply the huge needs of the intensively under construction city. After all, if it was legalized, it would have to pay substantial amounts of income tax on sales and a duty for the right to extract minerals. By digging tunnels, Williamson could hide his real motives in order to avoid all of this.

James Stonehouse in 1858 tried to publish the results of his visit to the maze. Then Williamson's friend, artist Cornelius Henderson, threatened to sue Stonehouse for violating the boundaries of private property and defamation of Joseph Williamson.

Nevertheless, despite all the theories and assumptions, Edge Hill remembered Joseph Williamson as a local hero and philanthropist. A small portion of the tunnels were dug in the 1990s. A large number of personal artifacts belonging to the Williamson family have been found. Some of these tunnels are now open to the public.

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