Joseph Williamson (philanthropist)

Joseph Williamson
Joseph Williamson
Born	(1769-03-10)10 March 1769 Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Great Britain
Died	1 May 1840(1840-05-01) (aged 71) Liverpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Resting place	St Thomas' Church, Liverpool
Nationality	English
Occupation	Merchant
Known for	Philanthropy, tunnel-building
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Tate

Joseph Williamson (10 March 1769 – 1 May 1840) was an eccentric, businessman, property owner and a philanthropist who is best known for the Williamson Tunnels, which were constructed under his direction in the Edge Hill area of Liverpool, England. His philanthropy earned him the nickname the King of Edge Hill, whilst his tunnel-building activity earned him posthumous nicknames, including the Mole of Edge Hill and the Mad Mole.

For many years it was thought that Joseph Williamson was born in Warrington, Lancashire. However, research by staff and volunteers of the Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre has shown that he was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire and that his father was a glassmaker in a small village near Barnsley. At an early age, his family moved to Warrington. In 1780, when he was aged 11, he left his family and went to Liverpool where he was employed in the tobacco and snuff 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' 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. 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 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 Napoleonic wars 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.