Martineau was much younger than his
landlord and in old papers he claims that his small children would play in the
tunnels beneath his Mason Street house. Furthermore, it is said that when he
moved to Liverpool's Princes Park in the 1840s he purposely had his new house
built with underground passages, in the Williamson style, so that they could
continue to do so.
In June 2001, we found some
remains of them in the undergrowth on the south side of the park. The blocks
lining the main tunnel are well made and in super condition. All that remains
of the house otherwise are numerous large sandstone blocks strewn around, some
ornately carved. Perhaps the stone for the house came from the stocks which
were doubtless left around Mason Street on Williamson’s death. |
