The Mad Moles of Edge Hill Past and Present andThe Williamson Tunnels in Edge Hill, Liverpool

Tom Stapledon


Organisation:
The Friends of Williamson's Tunnels
Region:
Anywhere
Notice Period:
Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
Type:
Community Group Speaker
Fee:
Paid: £30 normally but flexible in some circumstances
Category:
History
Updated:
17th August 2023

The story of Joseph Williamson, the rich and eccentric Liverpool businessman, has been baffling and intriguing people for 180 years since his death in 1840. His fascinating underground world has the ability to amaze and baffle all visitors who come on a tour of the tunnels that have been re-discovered. They leave with some answers as to how and why they came about, but usually with a head full of many more unanswered questions. This talk and slide show tries to cover the whole story of Williamson and the work of the Friends of Williamson's Tunnels in re-discovering lost tunnels, emptying them out of 180 years of in-fill and making them accessible for the public to enjoy. The story is now too big to cover in one hour long presentation. There is a series of several more talks which are better as a follow-on for people wanting to know more about this fascinating story. I can present talks based on a walk-through of two of our main sites and also a talk based on the discovery of one site and its early exploration. Another talk about an 1880s railway cutting being driven through Williamson's land and one of his largest tunnels, is a connected subject that may be of interest to those who already have an interest in Williamson's underground exploits. Each talk is about an hour long. The Williamson Tunnels have now become a major tourist attraction for people visiting Liverpool but these talk give an intriguing visual insight for those who can't visit in person.

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About Tom Stapledon

I am a member of a local history society and registered charity called The Friends of Williamson's Tunnels in Edge Hill, Liverpool. The organisation was formed in 1996 to try to preserve the underground structures built under the direction of Joseph Williamson, "The Mole of Edge Hill". Joseph Williamson (1769 to 1840), was creating his underground kingdon between 1806 and 1840 and since his death most of his structures were filled up with debris and became lost and forgotten. Some of the tunnels were re-discovered, and interest was re-ignited in the early 1990s when they came under threat of being lost forever under new building developments. The Friends were formed to try to re-discover as many of the lost tunnels as possible, to see them preserved, cleared out and made accessible for the public to enjoy as a tourist attraction for the city of Liverpool. I have been a member of the Friends since 2009 when I joined as a volunteer digger. I have since become a tour guide, a Trustee of the charity and a project manager of our main tunnel sites. During my time with The Friends, I have been involved in all our discoveries and clearance work, helping to make the tunnels of Joseph Williamson accessible for visitors, local, national and international, to enjoy. Williamson's Tunnels are a unique, strange and fascinating world beneath the streets of Liverpool.


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