One of the lesser known Liverpool tourist destinations but certainly worthwhile seeing are the Williamson Tunnels, constructed in the early nineteenth century under the Edge Hill district of Liverpool.

 

Joseph Williamson, a retired tobacco merchant and later property developer, ordered the tunnels to be built - but no-one is absolutely sure why!  Theories have abounded over the last two hundred years, including the offering of work to the unemployed men in the district and Joseph’s alleged membership of a secret sect which believed in Armageddon.  Whatever the real reason, Joseph never did reveal the real reason for his desire to build the tunnels.

 

Although many of them have fallen into disrepair, some are still able to be seen, hidden under a residential development.  More still have yet to be rediscovered….

 

Many artefacts have been found within the tunnels, including ink wells, bottles and a child’s car, indicating that for a time at least, families did inhabit this underground dwelling.

 

Williamson died in 1840 at the ripe old age of 70, immediately signalling the halting of the tunnels’ construction and a sure-fire guarantee that the real reason for their existence would be taken to the grave.

 

Many events are now held within the tunnels, including recitals and concerts.  They are also a popular film location.