Researchers uncover secret tunnels underneath Liverpool

Researchers uncover secret tunnels underneath Liverpool

Astonished researchers have uncovered a huge secret tunnel beneath Liverpool built by a god-fearing Victorian tobacco tycoon.  

Joseph Williamson hired hundreds of men between 1810-40 to construct vast passageways under the Edge Hill part of the city. 

Only parts of the underground labyrinth had been discovered until this week when after ten years, excavation teams found The Great Tunnel - the largest chamber constructed by the eccentric businessman.   

Astonished researchers have uncovered the Great Tunnel - part of a network of passages beneath Liverpool built by a god-fearing Victorian tobacco tycoon. Pictured above, diggers look up in awe at the newly-discovered chamber on Mason Street

The gigantic chamber was unearthed with the removal of just one brick. Excavation experts had been digging for 10 years  

The strange nobleman was very private and select about who he allowed to travel in the passageways but was known as the King of Edge Hill by locals for his philanthropy. Pictured above, the tunnel below Mason Street found this week

JOSEPH WILLIAMSON, THE 'KING OF EDGE HILL' 

Tycoon: Victorian businessman Joseph Williamson, pictured above, hired hundreds of men over thirty years for the project

An entrepreneur, philanthropist and a deeply religious Christian, Joseph Williamson was dubbed the King of Edge Hill for his role in the community.

Born in Barnsley in 1769, Williamson moved to Liverpool with his family at the age of 11.

He made his money in the tobacco trade then used it to employ hundreds of men to help construct an underground network of tunnels, beneath Liverpool between 1810-40.

Researchers have debated the reason behind the tunnels. His strong interest in religion and links to an extremist Christian group suggest he feared judgement day. He also cared about the community, according to biographers, and wanted to keep men in employment by hiring them to dig.

After his wife died in 1822, Williamson became increasingly eccentric and devoted almost all of his time to supervising his excavations and tunnel-building. He died aged 71 in 1840 at his home on Mason Street, the cause of death was recorded as ‘water on the chest’.

He was buried in the Tate family vault at St Thomas’ Church in Liverpool which was demolished in 1911. He left behind an estate of £39,000 but had no immediate descendant.

The tunnelling dried up after his death with no one to fund the ambitious project.

After Williamson’s beloved church was demolished, many of the graves were removed but the Tate vault remained. In the 1920s the site became a car park.

His grave was rediscovered during an archaeological dig in 2005 and now a memorial garden in his honour remains at the site.

His purpose for his thirty year project remains unknown but biographers speculate the fiercely religious man was preparing for an Armageddon. 

Another theory was he wanted to keep local men in employment during a time of recession and a lack of jobs. 

He was well thought of among residents of Edge Hill was called King of the area for his charity work. 

But Williamson was also deeply private, with workers recorded at the time of saying he gave strange orders.

As a historian for the Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre writes on their website, the businessman often ordered builders and diggers to move large piles of rubble to one place and then inexplicably back again.

And he had a penchant for instructing men to build new archways before asking them to be bricked up. 

This has added to the confusion of excavation teams for the last ten years who have been digging areas of site in search of the Great Tunnel. 

While some passageways have been found with parts now accessible for tourists, the largest chamber remained hidden until this team.   

After digging down to 17ft, a worker removed a single brick by chance and accidentally found the undiscovered passage.  

A single brick which forms part of an arch was unearthed and removed, opening the team up to the tunnel.

Chris Iles told The Mirror: 'We found a single brick but we weren't sure if it was just a dumped brick or whether it formed part of the wall.

'Once we realised it formed part of the brick arch we were over the moon but we were all a bit reluctant to shout or get too excited in case it turned out not to be.

'We've been trying to find it for years and it's been well documented but we just didn't want to shout about it until we knew it was the right one.' 

Next week, they are hoping they can dig out more of the area around the tunnel so that it can be further explored, but say it could be months before it is fully excavated. 

Since the dig started, the team has filled 150 skips and uncovered around 1,200 of infill which had to be removed by hand. 

But some treasures have also been found among the rubble - such as intricate pieces of pottery. 

And the decoration and style of the tunnels also offer a hint to Williamson's religious beliefs, with Gothic details and godly drawings.  

Researchers into his life say there is suggestion the Williamson family were a part of an extremist religious sect which claimed the world faced Armageddon. 

And because of this he wanted a vast chamber of tunnels to be built where he and his fellow followers could escape catastrophe - and emerge later to build a new city.

The huge exercise which saw hundreds of men digging over the course of three decades would have cost millions in today's money. 

A regular member of St Thomas' church in Edge Hill, Williamson would only allow certain people inside the hidden parts of the tunnel.  

Others suggest he built the tunnels as a way of keeping people in work during a time of recession in Liverpool, following the war against Napoleon. Thousands of soldiers returned to the city without a career.  

Pictured: Part of the network has already been excavated and opened up to the public with tourists allowed to visit safe areas of the underground passages 

While the tunnels have been widely discussed with parts now accessible for tourists, the Great Tunnel has always remained hidden until this week 

After digging down 17ft using a JCB, a single brick which forms part of an arch was unearthed and once it was removed, it opened the team up to the tunnel. Chris Iles told The Mirror: 'We found a single brick but we weren't sure if it was just a dumped brick or whether it formed part of the wall'

Long process: A team of excavators from Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre have digging for ten years in search of the Great Tunnel 

This tunnel, pictured above, was one of the more recently discovered by search teams. Over the last ten years they've had to remove 150 skips worth full of rubble to get inside areas of the network 

SECRET MAN-MADE CAVES LAY BELOW NOTTINGHAM

A leading archaeologist is now claiming hundreds of undiscovered caves are thought to be lying underneath of Nottingham.

Scott Lomax, Nottingham City Council's archaeological adviser, said there may be around 800 man-made caves underground. They were reportedly used as dungeons, bomb shelters and homes.

Mr Lomax uncovered his 152nd new cave in the city in a year last week, accordi ng to the broadcaster. He said the 200-year-old cave, discovered under a barbershop in the city, was likely to have been used to store medicine for a shop above it.

The archaeologist told the BBC: 'There's probably hundreds more of these caves under people's shops, houses ... there's barely a day goes by that somebody lets me know about a cave in the city.

'I never know what to expect, there's another piece of the jigsaw everyday.'

قالب وردپرس

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: