Appeal to save centre beats target

UNDER-THREAT TUNNELS HERITAGE BASE RAISES OVER £20K IN A WEEK

- By WESLEY HOLMES

A HERITAGE centre that faced closure “unless a miracle occurs” has received a glimmer of hope after raising more than £20,000 in just one week.

The Williamson Tunnels heritage centre is dedicated to preserving the legacy of one of Liverpool's most fascinating historical mysteries: the strange underground labyrinth found underneath Edge Hill.

Wealthy tobacco merchant Joseph Williamson employed out-of-work labourers to create a maze of brick-arched underground tunnels and vaults for seemingly no reason between 1810 and 1840.

The tunnels were gradually filled with rubble and remained largely inaccessible until archaeological investigations were carried out in 1995.