Originally Posted by
miguel
I was in (I think it's) Ma Boyles Inn by the Sailors Church. The pub's then landlord told me that underneath were the dungeons which at one time housed French POWs from the Napoleonic era. He said everything was just as it was when it was closed. The shelves upon which they slept, their grafitti on the walls, eating utensils, tables; the lot.
He added that there were tunnels underneath through which one could walk at least to the Pig and Whistle pub.
It seemed to add up because I think it was there, that beautiful white building facing the Strand, where Liverpool's original castle or fort stood.
I asked why it wasn't 'opened' as a tourist attraction. It was a money spinner. He said because of its connotations to the slave trade it would be politically incorrect. Just repeating what he told me. Don't shoot the messenger.
Hi Michael et al.
Yes I agree that French prisoners of war were housed in the Tower which stood on the spot where Tower Buildings now stands and thus where Ma Boyles Inn is located. The fact that French prisoners and some Americans too were incarcerated in the Tower is recorded in Richard Brooke, F.S.A., Liverpool as it was in the Last Quarter of the Eighteenth Century 1775-1800. J. Mawdsley and Son, Liverpool, 1853.
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As Philip says, it seems unlikely the dungeons from the Tower still remain but it would be interesting to know for sure. I welcome your further enquiry, Michael, Cadfael, or someone. Thanks in advance.
I don't believe I have ever been in the inn but I went up that back street when I was home in May and took the following photograph standing next to the pub.
Chris
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