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wedding clothes. On one occasion he invited guests for dinner but served them only a simple meal of porridge and hard biscuits. Many of the visitors then left. He described those who remained as his real friends and invited them to stay for a more lavish feast. Relationships with his wife were not always amicable and he said himself that they led a "cat and dog" life. On one occasion
Williamson set free all the birds in his wife's aviary, declaring that it was a pity that men did not also have wings to enable them to enjoy liberty. His manner varied from being "rough and uncouth" to "kind and considerate". His clothes were patched and untidy but his underclothes were clean and fine. He was a religious man and held a pew at St Thomas' Church.
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and which were "of the strangest description". The land behind the houses dropped sharply for about 20 feet (6 m) and, as it was the fashion to have large gardens and orchards behind them, he built brick arches onto which the gardens could be extended. Following this, he continued to employ his workmen, and recruited more, to perform tasks, some of which appeared to be useless, such as moving materials from one place to another and then back again. He also used the men to build a labyrinth of underground halls and brick-arched tunnels. Labour was plentiful at the time and with the ending of the
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In 1805 Williamson bought an area known as the Long Broom Field on Mason Street, Edge Hill, Liverpool, which was a largely undeveloped outcrop of sandstone and around this time moved into a house on Mason Street. He then began to build more houses in Mason Street which were built without any plans
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business of
Richard Tate. He gained promotion within the business and also developed his own merchant's business in partnership with Joseph Leigh. In 1787 Richard Tate died and control of the business passed to his son, Thomas Moss Tate. Williamson married Thomas' sister, Elizabeth, in St Thomas'
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There is much evidence of
Williamson's eccentricity in addition to his tunnel-building activity. His own house and the other houses built under his direction were unorthodox and often impractical in design. On the day of his wedding, following the ceremony he went hunting, still dressed in his
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of £39,000. He left no immediate descendant. The tunnelling ceased with his death. In 1911 St Thomas' Church was demolished. Many of the graves were removed but the Tate vault remained. In 1920 the site became a car park. During the
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beneath Joseph
Williamson's house. This section was most likely built as a stone quarry in the 18th century and later vaulted over. The chamber was filled with spoil in Victorian times, and was excavated between 2017 and
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stations and whose own excavations passed through those of
Williamson. Williamson died in 1840 aged 71 at his home in Mason Street, the cause of death being "water on the chest" (an archaic phrase later known as
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development in 2005 the grave was discovered in an archaeological dig. The developers of the site, Grosvenor
Henderson, have built a memorial garden to Williamson now that development has been completed.
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Church, Liverpool in 1802. The following year
Williamson purchased the business from Thomas Moss Tate and from this, together with his other business enterprises, he amassed a considerable fortune.
265:. His wife died in 1822 and he then became increasingly eccentric, devoting almost all of his time to supervising his excavations and tunnel-building. In the 1830s he came into contact with
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in 1816, there were even more unemployed men in
Liverpool. The tunnels were built at depths between 10 feet (3 m) and 50 feet (15 m) and they stretched for several miles.
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Williamson retired from his business in 1818 but continued to be a landlord, one of his tenants being the
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plays
Williamson in a recurring role. Williamson's tunnels provide the key which helps the
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For many years it was thought that Joseph
Williamson was born in
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Underground Liverpool: Joseph Williamson – The King of Edge Hill
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Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire
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Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire
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The Mole of Edge Hill: The World of Williamson's Tunnels
181:, England. His philanthropy earned him the nickname the
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English businessman, property owner and philanthropist
439:, Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre, 11 October 2007
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537:, Friends of Williamson's Tunnels, 23 October 2005
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510:, Friends of Williamson's Tunnels, archived from
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332:) save Earth from trans-dimensional invaders.
169:and property owner who is best known for the
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391:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
19:For the member of the House of Commons, see
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388:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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730:Friends of Williamson's Tunnels (FoWT)
269:who was building the extension of the
21:Joseph Williamson (English politician)
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436:Was Joseph Williamson a Yorkshireman?
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785:19th-century British philanthropists
157:(10 March 1769 – 1 May 1840) was an
780:19th-century English businesspeople
654:Liverpool Characters and Eccentrics
735:Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre
652:Whittington-Egan, Richard (1985),
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638:, Liverpool: The Bluecoat Press,
534:Williamson's grave found at last!
382:"Williamson, Joseph (1769–1840)"
271:Liverpool and Manchester Railway
626:Recollections of Old Liverpool
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775:Businesspeople from Liverpool
140:Philanthropy, tunnel-building
420:UK public library membership
412:UK public library membership
116:St Thomas' Church, Liverpool
801:
683:, Liverpool: Edward Howell
679:Stonehouse, James (1869),
623:Stonehouse, James (1863),
213:and that his father was a
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629:, Liverpool: J. F. Hughes
37:
681:The Streets of Liverpool
217:in a small village near
211:West Riding of Yorkshire
68:West Riding of Yorkshire
765:English philanthropists
507:Martineau's Tunnels ...
704:Clensy, David (2006),
696:Hand, Charles (1927),
688:Hand, Charles (1916),
397:10.1093/ref:odnb/74852
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656:, The Gallery Press,
493:Whittington-Egan 1985
379:Murden, Jon (2007) .
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770:People from Barnsley
634:Moore, Jim (1998),
309:In popular culture
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171:Williamson Tunnels
760:English merchants
715:978-1-4116-1792-6
663:978-0-900389-22-1
475:on 31 August 2009
418:(subscription or
410:(Subscription or
326:Thirteenth Doctor
267:George Stephenson
239:'banqueting hall'
187:Mole of Edge Hill
183:King of Edge Hill
155:Joseph Williamson
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32:Joseph Williamson
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191:the Mad Mole
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88:(1840-05-01)
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755:1840 deaths
750:1769 births
300:Personality
279:Lime Street
259:philosopher
163:businessman
121:Nationality
744:Categories
593:Quoted in
558:Moore 1998
414:required.)
356:Moore 1998
336:References
322:Steve Oram
317:Doctor Who
215:glassmaker
207:Lancashire
203:Warrington
129:Occupation
98:Lancashire
86:1 May 1840
56:1769-03-10
468:The Story
422:required)
402:18 August
341:Citations
275:Edge Hill
256:Unitarian
197:Biography
179:Liverpool
175:Edge Hill
159:eccentric
94:Liverpool
541:3 August
518:4 August
443:1 August
320:(2021),
219:Barnsley
177:area of
161:English
132:Merchant
64:Barnsley
616:Sources
479:31 July
313:In the
223:tobacco
124:English
102:England
72:England
712:
660:
642:
408:
288:estate
284:dropsy
145:Spouse
273:from
242:2018.
227:snuff
710:ISBN
658:ISBN
640:ISBN
543:2008
520:2008
481:2008
445:2008
404:2013
237:The
225:and
189:and
83:Died
50:Born
393:doi
277:to
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