View allAll Photos Tagged shellgrotto
Unfortunately the grotto itself is really difficult to get good photographs of. But it's pretty incredible, and worth a visit. Personally, I'm inclined to think it's a clever Victorian hoax, but I'd be willing to be swayed if there was more evidence to suggest otherwise...
Inside Margate's Shell Grotto
Margate's Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835, although its actual age and origin is unknown.
The grotto is a 70ft passageway ending at the Altar Room, a small rectangular chamber 15 by 20ft.
The grotto gets its name from the 4.6m shells that decorate the interior with geometric patterns and stylised imagery.
Shell Grotto, Margate, Kent, England. In 1835 Mr James Newlove lowered his son into a hole in the ground while digging a pond. The young boy re-appeared and spoke of an underground labyrinth of chambers covered in strange symbolic mosaics of shells. It is still unclear exactly what the purpose of this grotto was but many believe it to have been an ancient pagan temple, whilst others dismiss it as being the meeting place of a strange cult.
Discovered in 1835, Margate's Shell Grotto is an astonishing find; 21 metres of winding passages decorated with 4.6 million shells. The walls are covered in images of gods and goddesses, trees of life and patterns of whelks, mussels and oysters. Some think it is an ancient Pagan grotto, others that it is simply an ornate Regency folly; but with no definitive explanation or history, the Shell Grotto is Kent's greatest mystery.
Shell design in Margate's Shell Grotto - it's shells, shells, shells.
Margate's Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835, although its actual age and origin is unknown.
The grotto is a 70ft passageway ending at the Altar Room, a small rectangular chamber 15 by 20ft.
The grotto gets its name from the 4.6m shells that decorate the interior with geometric patterns and stylised imagery.
Inside Margate's Shell Grotto
Margate's Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835, although its actual age and origin is unknown.
The grotto is a 70ft passageway ending at the Altar Room, a small rectangular chamber 15 by 20ft.
The grotto gets its name from the 4.6m shells that decorate the interior with geometric patterns and stylised imagery.
Views of the Shell Grotto, Margate. 4.6 million shells along a 104 feet long tunnel. No-one knows who built it, when or why.
Inside Margate's Shell Grotto
Margate's Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835, although its actual age and origin is unknown.
The grotto is a 70ft passageway ending at the Altar Room, a small rectangular chamber 15 by 20ft.
The grotto gets its name from the 4.6m shells that decorate the interior with geometric patterns and stylised imagery.
Margate, Kent, England. In 1835 Mr James Newlove lowered his son into a hole in the ground while digging a pond. The young boy re-appeared and spoke of an underground labyrinth of chambers covered in strange symbolic mosaics of shells. It is still unclear exactly what the purpose of this grotto was but many believe it to have been an ancient pagan temple, whilst others dismiss it as being the meeting place of a strange cult.
In an old seaside town, Cthulhu resides
Margate's Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835, although its actual age and origin is unknown.
The grotto is a 70ft passageway ending at the Altar Room, a small rectangular chamber 15 by 20ft.
The grotto gets its name from the 4.6m shells that decorate the interior with geometric patterns and stylised imagery.
Inside Margate's Shell Grotto
Margate's Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835, although its actual age and origin is unknown.
The grotto is a 70ft passageway ending at the Altar Room, a small rectangular chamber 15 by 20ft.
The grotto gets its name from the 4.6m shells that decorate the interior with geometric patterns and stylised imagery.
In an old seaside town, Cthulhu resides
Margate's Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835, although its actual age and origin is unknown.
The grotto is a 70ft passageway ending at the Altar Room, a small rectangular chamber 15 by 20ft.
The grotto gets its name from the 4.6m shells that decorate the interior with geometric patterns and stylised imagery.
Discovered in 1835, Margate's Shell Grotto is an astonishing find; 21 metres of winding passages decorated with 4.6 million shells. The walls are covered in images of gods and goddesses, trees of life and patterns of whelks, mussels and oysters. Some think it is an ancient Pagan grotto, others that it is simply an ornate Regency folly; but with no definitive explanation or history, the Shell Grotto is Kent's greatest mystery.