During the 1800s, there were many people living in Liverpool who were very poor and had a low standard of living. Joseph Williamson wanted these people of Liverpool to have a better way of life and earn honest wages, however, he did not want to just give money to them.
Diagram showing a section of the Williamson's Tunnel network
When Joseph Williamson bought an area of land in Edge Hill, he employed the working class and war veterans from Liverpool to dig tunnels connected to each other underneath the city. From then on Williamson was known as 'The Mole of Edge Hill'. There was no real reason for these tunnels to be built; in fact today no one really knows why. One suggestion is that he was using the tunnels to enter some of the wealthy properties in Edge Hill where he was having affairs with the ladies of the house or the maids as his wife knew nothing of the tunnels until after his death!
Joseph Williamson himself was not always rich and had to work hard to earn his living. When he was young he moved to Liverpool seeking work and was employed by Richard Tate, a tobacco merchant, who died in 1787. After Tate's death the business passed to his son Thomas. Joseph Williamson gradually worked his way up through the company and married Richard Tate's daughter, Elizabeth. Joseph Williamson later went on to buy the expanding tobacco company from Thomas Tate and the business continued to do well and earning him his fortune.
Diagram showing a section of the Williamson's Tunnel network