Tunnels Under Liverpool

[Knottedash]

I had a mooch today around the garden but no sign of anything as its a forest of nettles and brambles - im currently covered in nettle stings and my legs look like I wear barbed wire pantaloons. re. the smugglers tunnel, I got to thinking on my way home that the tunnel is more likley (if there is one) to be a passage to the church which is spitting distance from the house. These are not uncommon in old dwellings around the reformation and later I have heard of well to do families not wanting to walk with the hoy polloy would dig themselves a route from a basement to the crypt. To cut a tunnel to garston isnt impossible (mother redcaps baltic fleet etc) but it is one hell of an undertaking.

Any thoughts or info would be appreciated.

[fortinian]

Here are some shots of Ramsbottoms Chimney. The first is a photo of a photo... of a photo so quality is a bit dim. The second is from Jim Moores 'Underground Liverpool' which is a brilliant book that I thoroughly recommend.


This is Blanche Street - no longer there, but the road at the top of the picture is Smithdown Lane.



There are plenty more of these in the LRO.

[marky]

A Flickr.com member has a picture of the Smithdown Lane chimney from 1970.
Liverpool 1970 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Waterways]

The 'hole' in the railway wall that you mention is probably the original chamber that housed 'Ramsbottoms Chimney' which was a huge venilator fan to allow the smoke and steam from locomotives to escape.

You might not be aware that the railway was originally a tunnel and only opened out into a cutting in the 1880s, so a good vent system would be in place.

The Ramsbottom vent shaft was not a success. It had a steam powered fan. With some accidents and two much smoke in the Lime St tunnel, parts were made into a wide cutting.

Much of these cuttings can be filled in today to have buildings on them once again. The walls around the cuttings are boring and lifeless from street level.

From Science and society site. Extending the width of the Lime Street tunnel/cuttings:


You can see the tunnel and where parts were cut away to make open air cuttings. Parts of the tunnel were left in place where roads crossed the tunnel/cutting, creating deep natural rock bridges.

Below is the existing tunnel, and all around where they have widened and made the large cutting quadrupling the tracks. The brick lining of the existing old tunnel can be seen, as they dismantle it opening it up into the surrounding big cutting. It was quite clever what they did.


Mike Turner posted these links a while back:
http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/roa...tml#post120630

[Waterways]

A Flickr.com member has a picture of the Smithdown Lane chimney from 1970.
Liverpool 1970 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It is no good on a link. Here it is:


A later picture when the vent tower was demolished. Behind the school before Sydney Gardens the round vent shaft tower for the Waterloo tunnel can be seen.

[Danny Farley]

Have heard rumours for years about a tunnel that goes from the Olympia pub on West Derby road to the basement of the Olympia theatre. Heard this from numerous people in the area including a lad whose mate lived in the pub for years and someone who worked on the door of the theatre when it was the Locarno ballroom. Also stories of a lift that goes from the basement of the theatre up into the centre of the floor that was used to bring the animals up when it was a circus (Cages in the walls in the basement aswell) Dont know how much is true but it is very interesting and I love the theatre by the great theatre architect Frank Matcham

Hi Christy. I spent some time in the basement at the olympia many years ago
There was a lift that brought up the animals but it did not work and the floor above it had been covered. As you probably know it was at one time a circus.
However i found no secret passage,s and there where no cages,but there is a huge elephant pit where they kept the elephants. I was also a regular at the Olympia pub throughout the 60s and i never heared anything about the passage.

[burkhilly]

There's a tunnel which connects the County Sessions House and Museum in William Brown Street. I've no idea how long it's been there or why it's between these two buildings. Part of the tunnel contains cells, which are now used for storage.

[Kev]

St. James' Cem

[Ged]

Came across this having heard of it before. Anyone know if it ever happened or if so where it is and if not why not?

Liverpool Record Office: Online Catalogue')


.

[fortinian]

The link you posted does not work... from what I am guessing I can think of two things;

a) the 'brewery tunnel' belonging to a Brew House in Everton which had a tunnel for the barrels of beer to roll down a slope from the Brewery to the yard for transportation.

b) the proposed link to the city centre that would have come out at Everton. (I'm remembering this as I haven't got any books at hand) I think it was meant to come out somewhere near the top of Sleepers Hill

. It was meant to link up with the A580 (East Lancs Road) and be a direct access from Manchester to the Liverpool Docks and Mersey Tunnels, going under the city and down towards the Mersey.

As the project was proposed during the 1920s-1930's I believe that World War II got in the way, costs escallated and the plans were shelved.

As I said, I am remembering this so my facts might not be accurate.

[mikeadams1985@gmail.com]

with regards to the tunnell at reynolds park, this tunnell does exsist and is accessible, if your not afraid of climbin a wall then going down the quarry bank.

ill try and get to it at the weekend and get some pictures for you.

Id love to find the rest of the tunnells, Any chance of getting a list of confirmed tunnells?

[Cadfael]

Aye, the tunnel at Reynolds Park is cut in the sandstone bedrock and goes up in like a spiral staircase fashion. I need to go again - this time with a camera!

[tezmac]

Very interesting subject

[charlie5083d]

Came across this having heard of it before. Anyone know if it ever happened or if so where it is and if not why not?

Liverpool Record Office: Online Catalogue')


.

Reference Everton tunnels, my mother worked in a Sayers Confectioners shop in Brunswick Road, which is near to Low Hill, during the thirties and forties. to get to the toilet facilities, you had to go to the basement of the shop, and access a tunnel that went under the road. There were rooms in this passageway, which contained various junk. Emerging the tunnel on the other side of the road, there was the toilet, and another passageway that led off into the darkeness. It was never explored by her. I have heard of tunnels being in the Everton area, before allegedly from the Civil War period, and have often wondered if the one under Brusnwick Road was one of them. However, I heard Frank Carlyle on Radio Merseyside one day saying that a lot of what we presume to be tunnels were in fact "Cold Rooms" constructed at the same time as the property above, to keep produce fresh, and did not necessarily lead anywhere. With the tunnels in Burnswick Road being under shops I wonder if this was the case.

[charlie5083d]

Have heard rumours for years about a tunnel that goes from the Olympia pub on West Derby road to the basement of the Olympia theatre. Heard this from numerous people in the area including a lad whose mate lived in the pub for years and someone who worked on the door of the theatre when it was the Locarno ballroom. Also stories of a lift that goes from the basement of the theatre up into the centre of the floor that was used to bring the animals up when it was a circus (Cages in the walls in the basement aswell) Dont know how much is true but it is very interesting and I love the theatre by the great theatre architect Frank Matcham

Funny story in connection with Locarno. When in the police in the early 80's, the Locarno Burglar Alarm went off, and we all attended to check it out. Two colleagues went into the basement area, one of them went in front and shone his torch. He saw a step down onto what he thought was the floor of the cellar. He stepped down and immediately fell into large pool of water that was the elephant pit.
Nobody had been down ther for years and a film of dust had formed on the surface of the water, making it look solid. Apparently through lack of use, a water leak, and a misplaced delivery of diesel fuel in the '50s all contributed to the pit becoming full. Hence him falling in. If you have ever seen a cartoon of someone trying to get out of water in double quick time, you can imagine the scene. He consequently had to get his stomach pumped, and a complete new uniform. There were no burglars, just a fault in the system.