Doctor Who: Flux – Joseph Williamson, the man with the brown hat

Whilst Doctor Who, episode 2, War of the Sontarans’ offered up a few answers about the Flux there was one question I couldn’t wait another week to be answered. Who is the man with the brown top hat? I went digging to satisfy my curiosity.

First, I unearthed the transcript for episode 1, The Halloween Apocalypse on TV Show Transcripts. From there I was able to get the character’s surname. A trip to IMDB got me the characters full name, Joseph Williamson played by Steve Oram.

After doing a quick search for Williamson, I found that he is in fact a historical figure born on 10 March 1769. He is famous for building a maze of tunnels in Liverpool, known as the Williamson Tunnels.

Joseph Williamson was known as an eccentric, businessman and philanthropist. He bought land on Mason Street in Liverpool to build houses and then employed a number of men to dig tunnels, build vaults and construct arches. He continued to employ his workmen, and recruited more, to perform tasks, some of which appeared to be useless, such as moving materials from one place to another and then back again. He also used the men to build a labyrinth of underground halls and brick-arched tunnels.

Nobody knows why Williamson really built the tunnels but a number of theories exist. When asked about them he gave vague responses much like the ones we see in the episode of Doctor Who. See transcript below.

Unnamed man: Williamson, for the love of God, what are you doing here? Why all this digging?

Williamson: I provide work and wages for those who would not otherwise find it. Is that not enough?

Unnamed man: Of course, it is laudable. But do you not think about what you are creating?

Williamson: I think very deeply about it. More deeply than you can possibly know.

Unnamed man: Then why can I see no rational plan at work here? The designs are eccentric. The work is random. And, as for the tunnels being excavated, they are without purpose.

Williamson: Without purpose?! If I were to speak to you about their true purpose, your mind would buckle under the pressure.

The most popular theory for the tunnels is that he wanted to employ local people rather than give them handouts. Another theory is that Williamson was part of an extremist religious sect that claimed that the world was facing Armageddon. Williamson, therefore, built the tunnels as a place for him and his fellow believers to escape to avoid the catastrophe and emerge later to build a new city.

The Armageddon theory would tie in nicely with what is currently going on with the Flux. Although, I’m not so sure the tunnels would survive a world-ending cataclysm. I could be wrong.

Consider my curiosity satisfied.

If you want to know more about the tunnels and get a look inside, watch this video about the tunnels