do you believe in the telectroscope?

Notion Island

Paul St George writes:

Tim, I found the drawing of the island and the start of the tunnels.

The first thing to say is that it is not really called Notion Island. I have agreed with the Council that I will do everything I can to avoid a further run of treasure seekers and prospecters.

How To Build A Tunnel

Some people out there are going further than my simple childhood imaginings. In the Telectroscope Facebook group (join us!), Adam has contributed a very interesting guide to making your own tunnel.

In the newspapers I read recently about the “Mole Man” of Hackney who created a labyrinth of tunnels under his house over the last 40 years. On the radio, I hear about ‘Great Escaper’ Paul Brickhill and commentators discuss the puzzle of why the film theme tune of the ultimate tunnel movie has become our national footballing anthem.

Sometimes it feels like we’re all at it.

It would be nice, perhaps to know how Paul’s great grandfather began his own excavations. Initially I imagined the kind of mysterious Victorian engineering project that Paul Conneally unearthed and emailed to me:

The Williamson Tunnels are a labyrinth of tunnels and underground caverns under the Edge Hill district of Liverpool in north-west England. They were built in the first few decades of the 1800s under the control of a retired tobacco merchant called Joseph Williamson. The purpose of their construction is not known with any certainty. Theories range from pure philanthropy, offering work to the unemployed of the district, to religous extremism, the tunnels being an underground haven from a predicted Armageddon.

On reflection however, it's just as likely that Paul St G's tunnel could have had more humble origins – a man alone, inspired by a hole in the ground, a fissure perhaps. He starts to dig, burrows his way down and it begins. So, Paul, tell us. How did it begin?

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Paul St George writes:

Tim. You ask about funding and about Alexander Stanhope… This is just a quick reply because the final stages of construction are throwing up new and surprisingly time-consuming problems. I wish you could see some of the experiments and tests. In fact, why don’t we meet again?

Snippets and where to find them

Paul provided several very interesting historical references in his last post. I also notice on his web site he has been collecting useful snippets to reinforce the point that many eminent people of the late Victorian era certainly toyed with the idea of the Telectroscope  –  some more seriously than others.

I’m still finding it hard to find specific references to Alexander Stanhope St George. I suspect I need to spend some time offline in a big library. Can anyone suggest a good place to go?

Re: Stanhope connections

Paul St George replies :

Tim has seen the Wikipedia entry by Likopoulos about my great grandfather.

As well as answering any questions (if I can), I would like help from any genealogists or historians who can tell me more about Alexander Stanhope SG and his work. I have some of his papers, some drawings and a few newspaper clippings, but little more.

Stanhope connections

I’ve been rummaging around the Web looking for information about Paul’s great grandfather Alexander Stanhope St George and found not a lot apart from a town near Durham, a peer who was interested in Trojan excavation and a VC medal winner with connections in India and Somalia.

Certainly these two Stanhope men might have had enough money and influence to support the excavation of a Transatlantic tunnel, but what would be in it for them? Or were they perhaps a front for someone else?

I was wrong! There is an entry about Alexander on Wikipedia – and an update about the Telectroscope! It’s good to know that a proper reference source is validating Paul’s story.