ARCHAEOLOGISTS yesterday uncovered the lost grave of philanthropist Joseph Williamson for just a few hours, before burying the tomb once more.

Local historians from the Friends of the Williamson Tunnels have been searching for the exact location of the grave for the past 10 years and said the find came at the 11th hour.

It was the third time archaeologists had searched for the grave of the "Mole of Edge Hill" who created a labyrinth of tunnels under Liverpool in the 1800s.

And it was the final attempt to excavate the site, in a car park opposite police headquarters at Canning Place, which is part of the new Paradise Street development.

Members of the Friends of Williamson Tunnels said they were losing hope that the grave would be found on time.

Trustee Bill Douglas said: "The dig was due to finish at 5pm so this was the last chance to find it.

"We broke through just after midday. When the archaeologist saw the name, we all cheered."

Although the group knew Williamson was buried in the former churchyard of St Thomas's church - which was demolished and turned into a car park - the precise location was unclear.

Williamson campaigner Gabriel Muies said the area will be turned into a garden with a commemorative plaque thanks to Paradise Street developer Grosvenor.

He added: "I am absolutely over the moon. Williamson was a great benefactor for the unemployed in Liverpool.

"Grosvenor have agreed, at great expense, to turn it into a garden and have saved it."

The grave itself was due to be reburied by 5pm yesterday, according to archaeologist Jamie Quartermaine, from Oxford Archaeology North. He said finding the grave was an important link in the city's history.

"From a social history point of view, Williamson is of incredible importance and to find his grave is something most Liverpudlians can identify with.

"He's one of the city's eccentric personalities and we have been working on trying to find the grave for a number of weekends.

"We were struggling to find it so today has been very satisfying.

"The slab will not be visible after today - we are not grave robbers and we are not going to move it. It's an archeological recording."

Another trustee of the Friends of the Williamson Tunnels, Steve Moran, said he would like the grave to be visible to the public, but said he was just pleased it had been found.

He said: "Everyone's elated. We have been looking for this for 10 years and it's a proud moment."

The grave, which houses every member of the Tate family which Joseph Williamson married into, is surprisingly modest.

There is no religious inscription on the 7ft by 3ft gravestone, amended when Williamson was buried in 1840 to simply read: "Also the Remains of Joseph Williamson of Edge Hill Who died the 1st May 1840 Aged 71 Years."

Source: Here (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16286341%26method=full%26siteid=50061% 26headline=mole%2ds%2dgrave%2dfound%2dat%2dlast-name_page.html)...

So it's just a gravstone theyfound? No Coffin.

Aren't they supposed to move the bodys when there changing a graveyard into something else?

Where will they rebury it.

Ain't been to those tunnels though.

He was born in Warrington too.

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/icliverpool/oct2005/5/9/000B79CC-A29F-135C-969A0C01AC1BF814.jpg

CAMPAIGNERS were staging a protest today outside a city property auction in a bid to block the £1m sale of the former lord mayor's stable yard.

The derelict site, on Smithdown Lane, Edge Hill, is being sold with planning permission for a three-storey block of student flats.

But it lies above one of the Williamson tunnels, the famous triple decker, and there are fears construction work could damage the historic under-ground attraction.

Les Coe, of the Friends of Williamson Tunnels, said: "The land up for sale is a large cobbled section of the stable yard.

"Underneath the land are some of the most spectacular tunnels. We're worried by the plans, as the construction of flats would almost certainly damage the tunnels beneath."

The planning permission was granted in 2001 despite objections from conservationists.

The Williamson tunnels have been described by heritage experts as one of the " wonders of Liverpool". more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16738578%26method=full%26siteid=50061% 26headline=fears%2dfor%2dhistoric%2dtunnels-name_page.html)

Who's been? What was it like?

http://www.williamsontunnels.com/

I went into the tunnels a few years ago. I believe it was the very year they first opened to the public. Was fab, definitely an E-ticket. :thumbsup:

Word of advice: If you do take the tour and the guide mentions discovering spiders in the tunnels, please roll your eyes at him for me. Ta

Report:

http://static.flickr.com/56/184907729_a4aad26e48.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/184907729/)

I entered the Williamson Tunnels public bit which contained the famous double tunnels, bar/ snack area and was met by Ian who has been working on the tunnels for many years and began speaking passionately about them including the planning permission they had just applied for to begin excavasion of The Paddington Tunnels, a mile of more tunnels under the Bears Pub area (Click here for map (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=336459&y=390377&z=0&sv=L7%208SZ&st=PostCode&lu=N&tl=%7E&ar=y&bi=%7E&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf)). Ian gave me his actual sausage roll as they had none left, a nice gesture and very kind of him.

http://static.flickr.com/46/185363049_21e2b303f2_o.gif

I've highlited the approximate area in red to show you the limited area that was open to us, plus the other tunnel locations that are known and have been identified and explored by members of the Williamson Tunnels.

http://static.flickr.com/44/184905150_e9566f5ec0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/184905150/)

Various artifacts have been found and are on display in the entrance area plus around the tunnel route.

http://static.flickr.com/74/184905469_47622f469e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/184905469/)

After we all paid, plus a little bit extra to help the Tunnels organisation stay afloat, we were given hard hats and met our guide. He assembled us in front of these large 'stable' type doors and began his talk, in which he spoke with passion and enthusiasm about The Mole of Edge Hill, where he was born plus more background history of the great man himself.

http://static.flickr.com/1/184905530_5fef86168e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/184905530/)

The doors were opened and we were greeted by an excavated area of the tunnels. The area on the right used to be a floor laid by the Williamson Tunnel people until they discovered that there were more tunnels underneath, so the floor came up! It was truely amazing to listen to the history of the area and how the tunnels were used and abused over the years, they were filled in at one stage by ash from the houses above.

http://static.flickr.com/51/184912497_4e831cad3c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/184912497/)

Everywhere we turned there were tunnels 'here, there and everywhere'.

http://static.flickr.com/46/184906292_ffee771bd1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/184906292/)
The Kebab

Various bore holes were made over the years by workman above at ground level, these were drilled and filled with concrete and nothing to do with Joseph Williamson and his men. The stayed and this one was affectionately called The Kebab :).

http://static.flickr.com/58/184906666_b2ac6c0e63.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/184906666/)

We had completed a full circuit of the section opened to the public which took 40 minutes. The end brought us back to the 'double tunnel' just above the bar area. Our guide explained that any artifact that was found undamaged was taken to the museum, on display here were many broken examples of pottery etc.

We were taken back down the stairs and into the entrance area were the talk continued. He was recruiting volunteers to dig out more holes so if you fancy it give them a ring!

This tour comes highly recommended. View the other pictures here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijob/sets/72157594191934772/). You may also be interested in the videos (dark but lots of information) here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUqhot6RK5c) and here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P5fVjHsqIw).

Next, it was off to Coopers for a beer and to meet up with Doug Roberts and Woody.

Thanks for taking time out to do that Kev it was a great day out all round and those tunnels are great.Here's a couple of my pictures taken on the tour.

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3416/bottles2sp.jpg


http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3870/pottery7tv.jpg


http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9715/handcart9fi.jpg

Williamson was obnviously a cuckoo. He was a philanthopist for sure. But there are better ways to spend your money and keep people employed than pointless tunnels. He could have built larger better homes for the poor or a hospital or whatever. Things that would improve people's livies for years to come.

The tunnels were assessed by the army in WW2 for military or air-raid use, but rejected as requiring too much work to get into service.

That was a good report on the tunnels. :)

Williamson was obnviously a cuckoo. He was a philanthopist for sure. But there are better ways to spend your money and keep people employed than pointless tunnels. He could have built larger better homes for the poor or a hospital or whatever. Things that would improve people's livies for years to come.

The tunnels were assessed by the army in WW2 for military or air-raid use, but rejected as requiring too much work to get into service.

Wow, you take my breath away with your sheer negativity on this website! :Colorz_Grey_PDT_24:

Them photos are great Kev, and thanks for the update!

Brilliant pics Kev and Paul, and the report was really interesting, I find this type of thing about the tunnels fascinating and the ferry trip takes me back to when I was a kid going to New Brighton.....Ahhhh them were the days eh?.
:PDT_Piratz_26: :celb (23):

Wow, you take my breath away with your sheer negativity on this website!

Nice pics. Everyone is trying to make out these tunnels are something wonderful. They are not. They are as about as useful as the pyramids (tombs). Interesting yes. I may even visit myself.

Williamson was a warped philanthropist. Building tunnels was just utterly pointless. That is not negative, it is just how it is.

I saw on the web pics of men who walked, illegaly, the Wapping and Waterloo tunnels. Great. Rail tunnels that served the docks and did something very useful, and may be back in commission again.

A fantastic day was had by all involved.

@Waterways - behave yourself mate :PDT_Piratz_26: Being underground and seeing the tunnels being lovingly uncovered by the hardwork of volunteers was impressive, the progress they had made, the tunnels that went knowhere, the triple decker tunnels just found. Facinating. The man also employed his men to begin building the collumns around the Albert Dock. If you look closely at the collumns, 2 of them in the corner are white, the rest red.

Williamson's men built 2 out of stone and were not in a rush, the iron red ones were produced for speed.

The man was a crank, no doubt.

one of the stories of why he built the tunnels was that he thought the end of the world was near so the tunnels would provide a habitat for people to live underground or something along those lines

The man also employed his men to begin building the collumns around the Albert Dock. If you look closely at the collumns, 2 of them in the corner are white, the rest red.

Williamson's men built 2 out of stone and were not in a rush, the iron red ones were produced for speed.

The man was a crank, no doubt.

3 stone pillars in fact. Are you saying the Albert Dock was supposed to have stone pillars all around, but they went to cast iron to speed up the job because Williamson's men were too slow?

A large tobacco warehouse was were Albert Dock is now. Williamson was into tobacco and may have had something to do with the warehosue and hence Albert Dock.

they went to cast iron to speed up the job because Williamson's men were too slow?

that bit :)

one of the stories of why he built the tunnels was that he thought the end of the world was near so the tunnels would provide a habitat for people to live underground or something along those lines


Yeah yeah!! Louis, He beleived the apocolypse was upon us, But he provided much needed jobs to the poorest quarters in this city while it had some of the poorest boroughs in the devoloped world, and the highest infant mortality rate in the entire world .

Nice pics. Everyone is trying to make out these tunnels are something wonderful. They are not. They are as about as useful as the pyramids (tombs). Interesting yes. I may even visit myself.

Williamson was a warped philanthropist. Building tunnels was just utterly pointless. That is not negative, it is just how it is.

I saw on the web pics of men who walked, illegaly, the Wapping and Waterloo tunnels. Great. Rail tunnels that served the docks and did something very useful, and may be back in commission again.


Its a homegrown history, and a massive tourist attraction.

And the Waterloo tunnel ?....... illegally walked ?....... where was it illegal, was it due to H&S issues perchance?

And was'nt the tunnel once considered in regards as a new through-fare into the city centre...

And who is going to re-open this tunnel?, British Rail ?

And the Waterloo tunnel ?....... illegally walked ?....... where was it illegal, was it due to H&S issues perchance?


It's private property


And was'nt the tunnel once considered in regards as a new through-fare into the city centre...


It was


And who is going to re-open this tunnel?, British Rail ?
[/QUOTE]

The Wapping Tunnel emerges opposite Queens Dock from Edge Hill. It crosses the tunnel from Garston to Central Station at Gt Georges St/Duke St - only feet between them

There was proposals to join the two so trains can head east to Edge Hill and West to Queens Dock, and dig out a station at the University.

There was also a proposal that trains would emerge from the tunnel and rise on an elevated bridge over the Dock Road and into Kings Dock.

Another was trains emerging from the tunnel and travel on a new Overhead along the same route and join the northern line further up around the Waterloo Tunnel entrance. An over head tarion gantry would spoil views, so I don't like this one.

The Waterloo Tunnel was proposed to take trains on the Northern line to Edge Hill and beyond. Trains emerging could go north or south and a station there for Central Docks. Also a station could be cut into the tunnel at any point along its length. One was proposed near to Everton and have EFCs stadium on the park. The park is a desolate open space – an after thought.

Any ideas?

Any Idea's ?

Yeah, that took you the last half hour too google that.....


My suggestion is we should'nt have trashed Edge Lane, when there was a perfect route into the city-centre already laying under our feet.

exactly what the fella said in the tunnels.

exactly what the fella said in the tunnels.

He must have been a scouser :D

It saddens me to think someone could dismiss what has been achieved here in such a casual & cavalier way.Firstly as far as i'm aware we don't know what his reasons were for building these tunnels.But it begs the question why would people go to all this trouble & hard work for no good reason at all.This could become a really big tourist magnet in years to come & who knows they may well be put to even better use one day.
I for one would feel safe down there.I've got more faith in his work than of his modern contemporaries.
I sincerely hope this project & it's dedicated team get the recognition they deserve.
Finally i love how everything was displayed & would like to send my thanks to everyone who posted the photos & videos from this unique day out.

Terry!!!, I knew you a was a good lad :D

Any Idea's ?

Yeah, that took you the last half hour too google that.....


You made that up. Intimidated by knowledge I see.


My suggestion is we should'nt have trashed Edge Lane, when there was a perfect route into the city-centre already laying under our feet.


Edge Lane Station?

It saddens me to think someone could dismiss what has been achieved here in such a casual & cavalier way.Firstly as far as i'm aware we don't know what his reasons were for building these tunnels.But it begs the question why would people go to all this trouble & hard work for no good reason at all.


There was no reason at all. No one in nearly 200 years has figured out what the hell they were for. To keep people occupied was the only reason that has emerged.


This could become a really big tourist magnet in years to come & who knows they may well be put to even better use one day.


You may be right. As are the equally useless as the pyramids. But there is no mystique at how the tunnels were built.


I for one would feel safe down there.I've got more faith in his work than of his modern contemporaries.
I sincerely hope this project & it's dedicated team get the recognition they deserve.
Finally i love how everything was displayed & would like to send my thanks to everyone who posted the photos & videos from this unique day out.


Same here.

You made that up. Intimidated by knowledge I see.



Edge Lane Station?


Government says yes to Edge Lane gateway (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16708656&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=government-says-yes-to-edge-lane-gateway-name_page.html)

CONTROVERSIAL plans for a new gateway to Liverpool were given the green light last night by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

Nearly 500 homes and 24 businesses will be demolished due to huge expansion plans for Edge Lane.

government-says-yes-to-edge-lane-gateway-

I can't see how that can use the Williamson tunnels.

exactly what the fella said in the tunnels.:rolleyes:

Check this video out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf0b4_IPp4I

The Urban M62

The route was essentially following the rail line in towards the city, approximately as far as Edge Hill station, with three lanes each way. At Durning Road, there would have been an east-facing junction where one lane was dropped; Durning Road and Upper Parliament Street were to be dualled as part of the scheme to provide access to the south of the city centre from here.

The remaining two lanes of the M62 would then enter twin two-lane bored tunnels, emerging at a final west-facing junction, and heading west along the line of Islington to end at a three-way junction near Lime Street Station.

SOURCE (http://www.cbrd.co.uk/histories/lim/m62.shtml)

Some BBC2 Documentry of some fella going inside the tunnels.

Wanted to set a horror story in it and too and had some story that was not set in the willliamson tunnels.

Check out www.stableyard.moonfruit.com - I did a website on the Stable Yard a few months back! Stopped the

sale going through anyway!!

IanW's posting gave me some thought on the Tunnels and after a good nose around my E-mail's, I came across a posting I made to a forum years ago about my first visit, long before I became a committee member. Now I can tell the chap who guided me a thing or two but am indebted to him for showing me around!

On Saturday at 12 noon, I walked to the house (JW's house..the front
which is
all that is left) and met up with a few people that I know from e-mailing
them
and phoning them and it's always nice to put a face to a voice at last!
After
signing in and they made sure that I couldn't sue them if I hurt myself
then it
was off to choose a helmet and off I went.
In the yard were three open doors, the first led to the banqueting hall,
the
second to the boiler room and the third to the wine bins.
First up was the banqueting hall and thinking I'll only have to jump down
a
small hole..I sort of got a shock seeing a ladder disappear in to the
darkness
looking down the hole!
Curiosity got the better of me though and I began me decent down the
ladder..two
things which stuck in my head..one they said that I needed a helmet to go
down,
which after scraping my head all the time I was thankful for and two was
to
dress scruffy because it's dark and dirty down there and you'll get
covered...so
here's me in my decent leather jacket thinking i'll be careful lol...hmm
bad
mistake!
Once off the ladder the 6 or so people gathered in this small room and
were told
exactly that we were not standing on the floor..but about 10ft off the
ground
and all the rubbish that had piled up over the years were covering yet
more
tunnels that we didn't yet know about.
The archway that we looked at was absolutely perfect and yet cut by hand
and you
could not fault it today. It was completely strange to think that all the
work
that had gone in to the various tunnels and archways yet only one person
would
see it and that would be JW himself.
Everything was carefully finished off in the stonework and everything
looked
like it was done 2 weeks ago it was so perfectly smooth and looked so
professional.
While looking at the rubble on the floor, we think that there are more
tunnel
entrances however a small gap in the wall..probably about 2 foot square
gives
the impression that it leads to somewhere, it has not yet been fully
cleared out
mainly because no one seems to want to go down there so I told them that
I was
quite willing to see what was down there once work had begun to clear out
:)
These tunnels, because no contract has not yet been fully signed up are
not free
of rubble and were very slippery and even with my good sense of balance
you
always managed to whack your head (helmet) against something but always
saw the
funny side of it.
Passing the ladder to the otherside, we were led to a passageway that was
no
bigger than about 2 foot and it meant a tight squeeze through..but this
led in
to the banqueting hall..and wow what a sight!!!!
Imagine a room that has massive dimentions..80 foot long..30 foot
wide...30 foot
high and imagine that this once used to be solid sandstone and you just
have to
gasp at the work that went in to it.
Yet again, there is a lot of rubble and we think that were about 20 foot
above
the actual floorway. We thought this as the archway that comes out of the
side
of the wall seems to end about by our feet but there is rubble there and
not
lower down the tunnel so we know the rubble is hiding either a staircase
or
something else of interest..possibly another tunnel?
Walking to the top of the rubble at the other end of the hall gave a good
view
of the hall itself but also the craftsmanship in the roof, the way the
sandstone
meets the brickwork and what else we have yet to discover. We looked upon
the
roofway and noticed that there was an archway that didn't seem in place
to the
rest of the wall and indications from where we are in the tunnels is that
this
'wall' actually conceals a stair case which will lead..well...who knows!
After taking a load of photo's from the hall, I went back through the
narrow gap
and then back up the ladder to find my next port of call which was the
boiler
room.
Going down a short ladder this time, I found myself in the boiler room
which was
basically a smallish room that showed the steps perfectly cut in to the
side of
the room that led down in to another small room. The problem was that
originally
the room used to be quite large and access was very easy but because of
the
structure of the house above was modified in some way metal struts had to
be
placed in the tunnels which had to be cemented and bolted in and because
of this
there was literally about a foot and a 1/2 to get through this
gap...never wear
a leather jacket in the tunnels again!
Although this room was fairly uninteresting, it didn't matter as it was
still
part of the tunnels!
Climbing out of that room and then going in to the wine
bins..wow...climbing in
the wine bins took us all by suprise as this was JW's living quarters for
most
of his later life.
In the wine bin room there was three separate sections for wine and his
produce
all perfectly cut out with sandstone blocks, at the end of the room was a
rather
puzzling half bricked up tunnel but we now think that JW didn't actually
live in
the house that we thought it was his house, but we think he lived next
door. The
reason being is that this tunnel is directly under the house that we
think is
JW's house but the entrance we got only leads to a small narrow section
of
tunnel...FWT had to actually knock through this wall to get to the Wine
Bins.
The half bricked up tunnel we then traced and that actually led to next
door's
house so basically JW was using the land underground his neighbours house
for
his own use giving them little room for their own storage!
In the win bin room, there was the three wine bins, the half bricked up
tunnel
and then on the otherside was very interesting. We had the remains of a
fireplace hacked out but also there were three archways in the wall that
have
been bricked up...we don't know what's behind them at all but are eager
to see
what is behind them..the one thing we do know is that the floor we are
standing
on is the actual floor.
To one side we know that below us is the banqueting hall and we also know
that
other arches may well lead to places that we have not found or even
thought of
yet.
Back on the surface we were able to go to Paddinton for the biggest shock
yet..I
had only seen the pictures of the tunnels under the new Student flats so
I was
expecting loads of rubble and stuff...how different it was in real life.
Looking down at paddington was a newly installed metal staircase which we
walked
down and go to to about 6 foot under the car park on top. There was a
drop to
one side which we think that there used to be some sort of lift mechanism
and
then to the other side all the stairs had been cleaned and looked after
and it
really was looking different to that of the photo's. At the corner of the
stairs
was another boarded up archway..some 10 foot in height which they say has
not
been looked in to and they think actually holds much more tunnels in the
opposite direction!
Walking down the stairs to the second level, we came across an array of
old
bottles that were found there, old milk bottles and some old pop bottles
with
the glass ball inside the bottle, there were a few signs for advertising
and all
the rubble had been neatly stacked up in corners and everything was tidy.

Looking around at the roof, it was very clear that the stonework was
immaculate
and it's hard to believe that only JW saw it and yet so many people want
to see
this now. I was taking pictures like there was no tomorrow as usual but
nothing
kept me from the info I was given next.
We walked down to the third level and came to a very deep cutting which
was
boarded up along both sides and went down about 30 foot. Basically we
were
standing on ash as the house (when it was standing) used to be a bakery
and they
used to pour all the ash down the tunnels as some easy place to put
it...the
guys at FWT have dug down and cleared 30ft of ash from one section,
boarded it
up either side and its looking very good...however, we wanted to know how
deep
this room was and what was there as we suspect that once we get to the
bottom
then we uncover a mass of other tunnels and archways leading who knows
where so
FWT managed to get a 30 ft metal rod down the tunnels...they placed the
bottom
of it on the top of the ash (which was 30 ft down) and then put the rod
in to
the ash to see when it stopped....if one of the guys hadn't have kept
hold of
the metal rod..it would have disappeared!!!!
This basically indicates that we have found that the tunnel floor is a
minimum
of 70/80 ft down below us..indicating that we are standing on that much
ash and
that's gonna take some shifting. However we don't know how far we have to
go but
this will be cleared and we'll be sure to find other tunnels in different

directions leading up out of Liverpool or possibly in to town..who knows
:)
Les (the guy taking us round) was extra pleased that there was some young
people
at last with bags of energy to help clear the rubbish and as soon as I
discover
anything..who knows I may be the first person to walk in to another room
full or
something for the first time in almost 200 years!

wow, thanks for sharing :PDT_Piratz_26:

Went driving around the Mason St/Tunnels area today with Bunf.

Some great buildings around there, but the area as a whole is in need of a severe cash injection.

We watched a Dvd last night about the tunnels, that's what sparked our little adventure today! (the one narrated by Roger Philips)

Must have been a fantastic little area in the day though :)

Mason Street - the Gentry of Liverpool lived here in the 1800's!!

Source - Liverpool Record Office

Smithdown Lane - the view is taken where the new flats are now on the corner of Smithdown Lane/Grinfield Street.

Source - Liverpool Record Office

great pics jona.
have you seen the dvd?
is that ruined house on mason street joseph williamson's?

great pics jona.
have you seen the dvd?
is that ruined house on mason street joseph williamson's?

I'm ON it :celb (23):

Look for the Heritage Centre bit, there is a snipit of the opening day where there's a good crowd waiting to go in. I can be spotted in the blue T-shirt and the very short haircut looking around at various people - did the security for the first day opening and quaffed lots of free Champers!!!

Sort of! Williamson moved all around Mason Street but this was once his house and is the only standing structure left above ground of his 'works' (apart from bits of his boundary wall on Smithdown Lane)

House picture below when it was a 3 story jobbie!

Source - Liverpool Record Office

:) Trust you to be on it!! hehe

Took this pic today...is this the same house as in your pic?

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/Carrie132/MolesMasonsthouse.jpg

You know me :Colorz_Grey_PDT_16:

Yeah that's Williamson's House. On closer inspection you can see the bricked up doorway - the archway was used for access for the digging out of the tunnels!

You know me :Colorz_Grey_PDT_16:

Yeah that's Williamson's House. On closer inspection you can see the bricked up doorway - the archway was used for access for the digging out of the tunnels!

oohh all good stuff.
saw some williamson guys knocking around today with hi-viz's on...

oohh all good stuff.
saw some williamson guys knocking around today with hi-viz's on...

I wouldn't trust those dodgy chaps - especially the one in the centre :gossip: :)

hehe
he looks the most dodgy of the lot!

any idea what they were up to today?

hehe
he looks the most dodgy of the lot!

any idea what they were up to today?

Could be anything from digging, to tours around the area to sloping off to the Oxford for a pint :PDT_Aliboronz_24:

:) Trust you to be on it!! hehe

Took this pic today...is this the same house as in your pic?

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/Carrie132/MolesMasonsthouse.jpg

Wow i never knew his house survived. great pic:)

Where about is that house?

A few pics here http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b389/andalucia_/Joseph-Williamson-Centre/?start=0



:)

hey gnomie
it's on Mason Street in Edge Hill, near the Williamson Tunnels...be careful if you're going about there with a camera though, it's a bit of a weird area!
Great little remnants of buildings and walls though...

I wouldn't trust those dodgy chaps - especially the one in the centre :gossip: :)

Is that Dave Bridson on the left? He was in my class at De La Salle. We only bump into each other at beer festivals now.

Mason Street - the Gentry of Liverpool lived here in the 1800's!!

These are wonderful pics.
Kev posted some last night on windmills.

I know ultimately they're from the LRO, but are they on a disk, or something?

Is that Dave Bridson on the left? He was in my class at De La Salle. We only bump into each other at beer festivals now.

Dave Bridson runs the Williamson's Heritage Centre and is a fine beer drinker! The chap on the left however - his name is Jeff Jones, a fellow Childwall bod.

There was once a windmill in Smithdown Lane too.....

Jona - don't forget the source of the pic la :)

Dave Bridson runs the Williamson's Heritage Centre and is a fine beer drinker! The chap on the left however - his name is Jeff Jones, a fellow Childwall bod.

I thought he'd lost a bit of weight!:)

Jona - don't forget the source of the pic la :)

Sorry Kev :)

Source - Liverpool Record Office.

Liverpool City Council recently approved Friends of Williamson's Tunnels' plans for works at the Paddington section of the tunnels. This will finally see excavation go ahead at this mysterious section of Williamson's labyrinth.

Our several sets of high quality conveyor belts have been installed, along with a full electricity supply. Next, we will re-arrange things above ground to make removal of the many tons of rubble easier.

That will involve building a new gate adjacent to the entrance hatch, as well as a new wall to separate our work area from the car park of the Student Village. Once that process is complete, we will begin excavating: firstly the tunnel which heads south from the entrance - a very tall tunnel of which we only caught a fleeting glimpse when we first re-discovered the Paddington section several years ago - and then the main tiers of this section, many parts of which are packed with rubble. It will be fascinating to finally discover what is underneath.

See a sketch of the multi-level layout of Paddington here (http://www.williamsontunnels.com/virtour/padd/padd3d.htm).

http://www.williamsontunnels.com/images/paddconvey.jpg
Two of the conveyor belts ready to be installed

http://www.williamsontunnels.com/images/padd47.jpg
Rubble in the Paddington tunnels

Did you not read the copyright bit on FOWT's Website? :PDT10

Nope, couldn't find it, maybe its hidden beneath a secret tunnel within their website :PDT11

Nope, couldn't find it, maybe its hidden beneath a secret tunnel within their website :PDT11

Its where I found the same copyright page and borrowed the same text :PDT10

Picture of the first level - this is showing the tunnel that Charles Hand walked for over a mile through in 1926!

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