Walk Through Liverpool's Dark History

William Huskisson was born on the 11th March 1770.In 1783, William and his brother Richard were adopted by their mother's uncle, Dr Richard Gem and went to live with him in Paris. Dr Gem had been physician to the Duke of Bedford during his embassy to France in 1762. In 1790 he became private secretary to the British Ambassador, Earl Gower, until 1792 when Britain withdrew its Ambassador from Paris.

Huskisson gave his allegiance to George Canning, who was a demanding master though a generous friend, here was the tie which finally bound him to Liverpool. In 1824 the plans for the Manchester to Liverpool railway were first made known to him by John Gladstone. The canals were proving insufficient for this area, the railroad would be a means of relief. Huskisson was a shareholder in the canals which had done so much for the counties of his birth and family. For honourable reasons, he declined, as Minister, to sit on the Committees of the House which discussed the details of the Railroad Bill, but in the House itself, he supported it warmly on the general principle ‘of affording additional facility and accommodation to trade’.

When the Railroad neared completion in the summer of 1830, Huskisson was ill but he was determined to be present at the opening of the railway on the 15th September. During the ceremony, Huskisson, and some friends left their carriage during a halt, a warning was given that Stevenson's Rocket was approaching. Still feeble from illness Huskisson, attempting to board the carriage, fell across the line and was run over. At nine o'clock that night he died, in great agony, at Eccles Vicarage.

William Mackenzie was born near the town of Nelson, situated to the north east of Liverpool in 1794. After beginning work as a weaver he entered into civil engineering. WILLIAM MACKENZIE’S TOMB A few years back, while visiting Liverpool, I read an article in a daily newspaper about the curious pyramid-shaped tomb of William Mackenzie, which is situated in the graveyard of the former St. Andrew’s Church in Rodney Street. By some strange coincidence, I found myself in a restaurant in Rodney Street, that very evening, situated directly opposite the graveyard and in full view of Mackenzie’s tomb.

William Mackenzie was born near the town of Nelson, situated to the north east of Liverpool in 1794. After beginning work as a weaver he entered into civil engineering. He was first employed as a lock carpenter on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal 1n 1811 and later on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, Birmingham canals and the Liverpool and Manchester railway.

Mackenzie subsequently became a wealthy man amassing an estate of £340,000, equivalent to £42 million today. However, by all accounts, he became an inveterate gambler. Legend has it he bet and lost his soul in a game of poker with the Devil. Nonetheless, he was said to have contrived a plan to outwit Satan. He figured that if he was never buried, Satan would not be able to lay claim to his spirit. As a result he was said to have been buried sitting upright in his tomb supposedly seated at a table with a winning hand of cards in his bony fingers.

Rodney Street is widely regarded as one of, if not the, most haunted streets in Liverpool and once you hear the stories, it’s easy to understand why. With over 40 catalogued ghosts on the street, it’s common to see or feel something not-quite-right when tiptoeing down the road. There’s also the mysterious case of Lantern Jaw, a tall and terrifying man with a huge square jaw, a long flowing cloak and a top hat, who wanders the street when darkness falls.

Polly is a female spirit who haunts the former nurses home, dressed all in white and mourning her tragic death. Or keep an eye out for a well-dressed woman who stalks Rodney Street with a young girl – these spirits only began to walk the mortal realm when bones of an adult and a child were unearthed by workmen in St Andrew’s Cemetery.