Mystery
The Mole of Edge Hill
He tunnelled, and never said why.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Brick and sandstone vaults deep underground
- Legend from
- Edge Hill folklore
- Best time
- Any
- Tone
- Mysterious
Under Edge Hill a rich man dug a maze of tunnels, and no one ever learned why.
Joseph Williamson, a tobacco merchant and philanthropist, had a network of tunnels and vaults dug beneath Edge Hill between about 1810 and 1840. He became known as the Mole of Edge Hill. The BBC called the labyrinth part of local folklore, largely hidden for over 150 years. Nobody knows why he dug it. Suggestions include quarrying, a wish to give work to local men, or simply his own eccentricity. Wikipedia says he was secretive about his reasons, which led to a great deal of local folklore. The tunnels were later filled with rubble and refuse, and only reopened after archaeology in 1995. Parts are now open to visitors.