# The fascinating world of the Williamson tunnels, Liverpool



## editor (Mar 12, 2013)

These sound ace!










> Volunteers in Liverpool are giving up their free time to clear out a mysterious labyrinth of tunnels that lurk beneath the city's Edge Hill area.
> 
> The Friends of the Williamson Tunnels are removing the results of decades of Victorian "fly-tipping", hoping one day to expose tunnels which they believe could stretch for miles.
> 
> ...


 
BBC video here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21595625

Some background:



> ° The Williamson Tunnels are a labyrinth of tunnels and underground caverns under the Edge Hill district of Liverpool in north-west England.
> ° They were built in the first few decades of the 1800s under the control of a retired tobacco merchant called Joseph Williamson.
> ° The purpose of their construction is not known with any certainty. Theories range from pure philanthropy, offering work to the unemployed of the district, to religous extremism, the tunnels being an underground haven from a predicted Armageddon.
> ° Although some of the tunnels have been lost over the years, a lot of them still exist today, under what is now a residential area.
> ...


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## friedaweed (Mar 12, 2013)

Fascinating aren't they? Makes you wonder why one man needed to have tunnels leading everywhere mind


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## thedockerslad (Mar 12, 2013)

Do these tunnels lead down to the docks and the coast?


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## friedaweed (Mar 13, 2013)

thedockerslad said:


> Do these tunnels lead down to the docks and the coast?


I don't think they've found such evidence as of yet but it looks like a possibility doesn't it? It's all down hill from there


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## aqua (Mar 13, 2013)

I love stuff like this!


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## Miss-Shelf (Mar 18, 2013)

bet boohoo will know more


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## Bernie Gunther (Mar 18, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> Fascinating aren't they? Makes you wonder why one man needed to have tunnels leading everywhere mind


 
He was some sort of philanthropist, concerned about unemployed navvies, e.g the same guys who dug the cuttings leading into Lime Street, if I recall correctly.

So he paid them to dig lots of interesting tunnels, underground banqueting chambers etc.


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## Ted Striker (Mar 18, 2013)

My mates recently put in do's (wouldn't quite call em raves but not far off)...twas a lovely setting


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## friedaweed (Mar 18, 2013)

Bernie Gunther said:


> He was some sort of philanthropist, concerned about unemployed navvies, e.g the same guys who dug the cuttings leading into Lime Street, if I recall correctly.
> 
> So he paid them to dig lots of interesting tunnels, underground banqueting chambers etc.


Aye I read that myself. I'm thinking of going to have a look over easter with the kids


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## disco_dave_2000 (Mar 24, 2013)

worth a trip, really interesting


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## Firky (Mar 24, 2013)

Bernie Gunther said:


> He was some sort of philanthropist, concerned about unemployed navvies, e.g the same guys who dug the cuttings leading into Lime Street, if I recall correctly.
> 
> So he paid them to dig lots of interesting tunnels, underground banqueting chambers etc.


 
Yup, was about to post this. He's the kind of guy who'd employ people to count grains of sand on the beach just to put money in their pockets. It is all very Victorian


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## Greebo (Mar 24, 2013)

Firky said:


> Yup, was about to post this. He's the kind of guy who'd employ people to count grains of sand on the beach just to put money in their pockets. It is all very Victorian


Maybe better for some than being on the receiving end of "parish relief" which was very definitely charity of the worst possible kind.


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## Firky (Mar 24, 2013)

The Salvation Army weren't exactly what most people call charitable and they're still at it - using slave labour workfare schemes. The Christian kants.


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 8, 2013)

The Williamson Tunnels are fascinating. I read an excellent article about the Calderstones in Liverpool recently:

http://www.dailygrail.com/Guest-Articles/2013/3/The-Calderstones-Liverpool

Which I knew nothing about before. I thought I knew everything about Liverpool! There is lots of interesting historical detail in that piece


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## chandlerp (Apr 12, 2013)

The Robin Hood Stone in that article is on the corner of my road!!


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## Dillinger4 (Apr 12, 2013)

chandlerp said:


> The Robin Hood Stone in that article is on the corner of my road!!


 
I didn't know anything about any of that. Fascinating!


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## Dan U (Apr 12, 2013)

There is a small network of man made tunnels under Reigate in Surrey. It sits on very fine sand which at various points has been popular so there are tunnels in various places, notably under the old castle and next to an old road tunnel which were used in world war 2.

At one point the sand was popular in London for bar owners to put on their floors and locals used to dig out their basements and sell the sand in the black market. This stopped once an entire street did it without telling each other and half the houses collapsed 

There used to be a wine bar in a tunnel which ran under the A25 but once lorries got really big it had to be filled in. 

That's it fact fans.

Tldr - like tunnels


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## boohoo (Apr 13, 2013)

Dillinger4 said:


> The Williamson Tunnels are fascinating. I read an excellent article about the Calderstones in Liverpool recently:
> 
> http://www.dailygrail.com/Guest-Articles/2013/3/The-Calderstones-Liverpool
> 
> Which I knew nothing about before. I thought I knew everything about Liverpool! There is lots of interesting historical detail in that piece


 
The Calderstones are quite an obscure piece of Liverpool interest ( found out about them a few years ago)


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