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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Aaron Curran

'Underground lake' people walk over every day without knowing

A mysterious underground lake lies hidden beneath the city centre - and most people don't even know it is there.

Images shared with the ECHO back in 2017 offered a previous unseen look at the secret world which lies beneath the city's business district. The spooky pictures were taken by an engineer carrying out maintenance work for the council beneath the city centre.

One picture appears to show a hidden vault, which seems to go back for some distance, with stone arches which stand below street level. It is believed this hidden world can only be accessed via a small tunnel, which opens up to reveal the huge vaulted area filled with water.

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The '"lake" is located below ground level on the town side of the Pier Head, towards Water Street, with the picture showing what looks like clean water filling the space. The ECHO understands that the underground vault is regularly inspected by engineers for the council - but this mysterious space is just one of the many tunnels and underground areas below Liverpool’s streets.

Some of them are well-used – like the Merseyrail loop line and the road and rail tunnels that head under the Mersey. But others are almost forgotten. There are several disused railway tunnels, including the Wapping tunnel below Chinatown and the Victoria tunnels heading to the docks.

Meanwhile Liverpool’s mysterious underground city at Edge Hill, the Williamson Tunnels, keeps revealing more secrets. The labyrinthine complex was created by Joseph Williamson, though why he created it remains a mystery.

Underground in the Williamson Tunnels (Colin Lane)

Dedicated volunteers have been working for years to clear waste from the tunnels to reveal their full extent. Back in 2017, the cavernous Banqueting Hall was finally revealed.

And there are reports of several other tunnels in the city centre, including a tunnel in James Street dating back to the time of the medieval Liverpool Castle.

There is also a 'lake' below the old Cains brewery, on Stanhope Street, from where the brewery used to get its water. The rumours were that the lake was so big, Cains workers had to use a boat, and even that coffins from the nearby cemetery had been washed down there.

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