to the boundaries of Williamson's lease and possibly beyond. Stonehouse, who traversed parts of the tunnels in 1845, described the excavations as a labyrinth of "vaulted passages [...] pits deep, and yawning chasms", including a "fearful opening" beneath Grinfield Street with two "complete four-roomed houses" in the side of it connected by a spiral passage. This apparent tunnel-building activity continued until Williamson's death in 1840. In August 1867 the Liverpool Porcupine described the tunnels as being "a great nuisance" because drains ran straight into them, in one place creating a cess pool full of offensive water deep, and they were being used for dumping refuse, including down chutes built into the buildings above for the purpose. In the later 19th century the Corporation of Liverpool began backfilling the tunnels with rubble and other waste from building demolition, a process that continued sporadically into the 20th century. Little information about the excavations had been recorded and nearly all knowledge of them, and of Williamson's life in general, was derived from the 1845 account of James Stonehouse. Although not published at the time it was written, it was referenced in Stonehouse's later works and was finally reprinted in full by Charles Hand as part of a 1916 article, "Joseph Williamson, the King of Edge Hill", published in the Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Historical Society. Hand's work saw a brief revival of interest in Williamson and his life. Early investigations and archaeology In 1881, the North Staffordshire Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers conducted a field trip to Liverpool during which they surveyed some of the surviving excavations, producing a plan and dog-leg section of the main parts of the site. In the early 20th century, soldiers from the 1st Lancashire Engineers and the West Lancashire Territorial Forces Association, whose drill hall in Mason Street stood on top of one of the tunnels, carried out additional surveys. The Association produced a map of the excavations although, as many were filled with rubble, this had to be left incomplete. The map also showed the course of the London and North Western Railway cutting between Edge Hill and Lime Street stations which ran through the area. Public interest in the tunnels waned through much of the 20th century and many of the sites were further buried or destroyed by new construction. However, from the 1980s onwards interest in Williamson steadily increased, leading to