Doctor Who: What are Liverpool’s Williamson Tunnels?

The six-part epic Doctor Who: Flux adventure has already seen viewers treated to different events happening across Earth's history.

We will have to wait and see how these different strands come together, but you may have noticed one storyline featuring a mysterious series of tunnels being excavated beneath Liverpool in the early 19th Century.

Unlike many other aspects of the story, these haven’t come from a writer’s imagination. The Williamson Tunnels are very real, as was the man behind them - and the mystery he left behind. BBC Bitesize has dug around into their history, for a story that’s as mysterious as anything else the Doctor has encountered before.

Who was Joseph Williamson?

A wealthy tobacco merchant, Joseph Williamson employed local men to dig out the network of tunnels in the Edge Hill district of Liverpool in the early 19th Century.

The excavation happened at around the same time that those returning from the Napoleonic wars were struggling to find work. Williamson paid men to build houses in the area - and also dig the tunnels. He became known as The King of Edge Hill and an entrance to the intriguing labyrinth was even found in the basement of his house.

What are the theories behind the tunnels?

Joseph Williamson died in 1840, aged 70. All work on the tunnels stopped and no documentation has ever been found which explains exactly why they were built.

There are many theories. One is that digging the tunnels was simply a way of giving unemployed people a day’s wage. Another is that the tunnels were actually arches constructed over existing quarry pits, which enabled the land they occupied to be built over. It has even been suggested that their construction was linked to smuggling, or a huge shelter to escape an oncoming disaster. Until further information emerges, it will stay a mystery.

How far out do the tunnels stretch?

It’s also a puzzle how far out the tunnels stretch beneath Liverpool city centre. Just as there is no documentation on what the tunnels were built for, there is no map to be found either.

The Friends of Williamson Tunnels are a group of volunteers who began excavating the tunnels in 2001. After work stopped on the tunnels in 1840, they became filled with all kinds of rubbish, including ash in one section from a nearby bakery.

They have to work carefully and slowly, filling buckets with dirt and debris until the tunnels are revealed, bit by bit. Through their ongoing work they have uncovered whole sections of the labyrinth - one as much as 39ft (12m) high and 59ft (18m) below street level - as well as passageways which are inaccessible but could stretch even further beneath the city’s footprint.

Digging sections out requires permission from the city council, and some parts are considered too dangerous to access, or involve areas where new buildings have been built since the tunnels were dug.

Can I visit the Williamson Tunnels?

The work by the Friends of Williamson Tunnels means a section of the underground network has been open to visitors since 2002.

All sorts of objects have been found by the volunteers during their clearing work, which are on display to visitors. They include school ink wells, jewellery, many different kinds of bottles, items from Liverpool’s Royal Infirmary and clay pipes.

The mystery of the tunnels has also made it a sought-after place to film over the years. The artist Mikhail Karikis shot footage there for his Ferocious Love climate change-themed installation in Liverpool’s Tate gallery. The Antiques Road Trip team has paid a visit and a film based on the Edgar Allan Poe story The Cask of Amontillado was shot there in 2004 - which involved bringing lots of prop skulls into the labyrinth.

Spooky scenes for the 2018 BBC One sci-fi crime drama The City and The City were also shot there. Will the resolution to Doctor Who: Flux be even spookier? We’ll have to wait and see.

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