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Shell Grotto, Margate, England

Ramsgate's oldest pub - and I'm not asleep!

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

The Shell Grotto. Discovered in 1835, the Shell Grotto is a 104-foot long underground chamber, the walls of which are decorated with 4.6 million sea shells, making over 2,000 square feet of shell "mosaic". Nobody knows how old it is - ideas range from a Roman Temple to a Georgian folly. Carbon-dating of some of the shells has allegedly been inconclusive.

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

The Shell Grotto. Discovered in 1835, the Shell Grotto is a 104-foot long underground chamber, the walls of which are decorated with 4.6 million sea shells, making over 2,000 square feet of shell "mosaic". Nobody knows how old it is - ideas range from a Roman Temple to a Georgian folly. Carbon-dating of some of the shells has allegedly been inconclusive.

As we got off the bus, the rain came down after a lovely sunny week, so we had to take shelter

The Shell Grotto. Discovered in 1835, the Shell Grotto is a 104-foot long underground chamber, the walls of which are decorated with 4.6 million sea shells, making over 2,000 square feet of shell "mosaic". Nobody knows how old it is - ideas range from a Roman Temple to a Georgian folly. Carbon-dating of some of the shells has allegedly been inconclusive.

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

Amongst the beautiful views are the people enjoying life by the sea.

The Shell Grotto. Discovered in 1835, the Shell Grotto is a 104-foot long underground chamber, the walls of which are decorated with 4.6 million sea shells, making over 2,000 square feet of shell "mosaic". Nobody knows how old it is - ideas range from a Roman Temple to a Georgian folly. Carbon-dating of some of the shells has allegedly been inconclusive.

Amongst the beautiful views are the people enjoying life by the sea.

they made a reproduction to show what the colors would have been like on the original.

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

Interior roof of recently reopened 18th century shell grotto at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (formerly part of the Bretton estate).

The Shell Grotto. Discovered in 1835, the Shell Grotto is a 104-foot long underground chamber, the walls of which are decorated with 4.6 million sea shells, making over 2,000 square feet of shell "mosaic". Nobody knows how old it is - ideas range from a Roman Temple to a Georgian folly. Carbon-dating of some of the shells has allegedly been inconclusive.

Photograph in the Shell Grotto of a seance from 1939.

 

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.

Tom Swift and Paul Hazelton's discovery of a box at the Shell Grotto, Margate; with an effigy of a figure holding a sacred duck totem

 

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