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#everysinglestreet [02/12/20] Railways, Paddington and the Mole of Edge Hill

Graham Holland    

Stats

  • Wednesday 2nd December 2020
  • 32 streets – Abney Close, Aigburth Street, Boothwood Close, Brightgate Close, Brydges Street, Chandos Street, Chatham Place, Dovestone Close, Grove Street, Harbord Street, Harke Street, Helsby Street, Highgate Street, Keystone Close, Kingswell Close, Ladybower Close, Malt Street, Overbury Street, Penarth Close, Longstone Walk, Mason Street, Perrygate Close, Portwood Close, Redmires Close, Kelsey Close, Shimmin Street, Sirdar Close, Smithdown Grove, Sterndale Close, Tideswell Close, Uxbridge Street, Widney Close
  • Total: 2,038 (36.26%)
  • Remaining: 3,585

Notes

Edge Hill Station is one of the world’s first intercity passenger stations. The original station was situated inside a cutting a little further to the west. At the end of the cutting were three tunnels. The one to the south was first used as a storage shed before it was extended to Crown Street coal depot. Wapping Tunnel in the middle went down an incline to Wapping Dock. This was the first tunnel in the world bored underneath a city. Wagons dropped down using gravity, and were pulled back up using an ‘endless rope’ system.

The tunnel to the north led down to Crown Street Station. Eventually steam engines became powerful enough to climb the incline, and when the line was eventually connected to the new Lime Street Station the current Edge Hill Station was built, and Crown Street Station closed.

I ran to the end of Keystone Close. There were no cops in sight.

The large school I took some photos of is Smithdown Primary. I also took a picture of St Anne’s Roman Catholic Church on Overbury Street. This used to be the home of the 7th Picton Scout Group before they left the Scout Association and joined the traditional, independent Baden-Powell Scouts Association as the 1st City of Liverpool Scout Group. I had many Scouting adventures with the B-P Scouts, including visits to Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. The Group no longer exists, although I’m still in touch with a few people from back then. It seems a lifetime ago now.

I ran down Angela Street. Angela wasn’t there!

“Welcome to Liverpool Crown Street. This public open space marks the western terminus of the world’s first passenger railway.” The sign has a picture of Stevenson’s Rocket engine. At the Crown Street end of the park there’s a large, red-bricked ventilation tower for the tunnel beneath.

Joseph Williamson (1769-1840) was a philanthropist who made his fortune in the tobacco and snuff business. He used some of his amassed wealth to pay unemployed men returning from the Napoleonic wars to build tunnels underneath Edge Hill, gaining him the nicknames the Mole of Edge Hill, and the King of Edge Hill. There’s no definitive map of the tunnels, and seemingly no reason for building any of them, but it gave the men valuable excavation, building and bricklaying skills.

Over the decades since Williamson’s death most of the tunnels ended up getting bricked up, filled in, and lost. The Friends of Williamson’s Tunnels was formed to help preserve the tunnels. There’s a visitor centre on Smithdown Lane (run by a different organisation due to… er… politics) where excavation is ongoing. Digging also takes place at Williamson’s house on Mason Street where only the facade remains. In the floor there’s the entrance to the tunnels underneath including the incredible ‘banqueting hall’ with its vaulted brick ceiling. The third site is accessed via a metal covered structure inside the grounds of Unite Students village on Paddington. Volunteers are still digging down and still haven’t reached the bottom. Rumour has it that Williamson built secret tunnels between his house, the pub, and the church so he could travel between them without being seen (or without getting wet!). These tunnels may well be discovered some time in the future. Who knows!

The Oxford Pub on Oxford Street is the only building that remains from when the area was covered with terraced houses. It seems lonely. If you look down the side you can see the remains of a cobbled street disappearing into the distance, the only indication that there was ever anything there before.

I discovered Shimmin Street. Hello Mum!

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