The Shell Grotto

I learned about the Shell Grotto when I was first investigating days out in Kent. Its description reminded me a bit of those oddity sites along Route 66 and other American byways, like the World's Largest Ball of Twine and the Cadillac grave yard. It's something quirky and not your typical tourist attraction.

The story goes that in 1835, James Newlove discovered a subterranean passageway on his property in Margate that was covered in an elaborate mosaic made from sea shells. He opened the Shell Grotto to the public in 1838. No one knows the origins of the grotto. Some speculate that it is an ancient pagan temple. Others think it was the meeting place of some secret cult. No one even knows how old it is! What is known is that the Shell Grotto is comprised of seventy feet of winding passages that lead to a large rectangular room. It totals more than 2000 square feet and the mosaic includes over 4.6 million shells.

We visited the grotto after we grabbed a simple but tasty lunch in Margate.

As you can see, the entire passageway is encased in mosaic. It is mind boggling to think about how long it took to not just make this, but to collect the shells. It had to have been years.

None of the panels is the same, though there are recurring motifs. There are a lot of flowers, stars, and hearts. One panel even had an ankh. Another has what the kind claims was a yin/yang symbol, but Steve and I disagreed. It looked similar, but was not right for a yin/yang.

It looks like I'm shooting in black-and-white, but that's actually what it looked like. Gives it a haunted feel.

The type of shell used for the center of this star makes it look like an eye.

There are so many different designs. It was hard to know where to point the camera.

It was like looking up from a bottom of a well here. This tunnel/chimney/well whatever it is was probably about 20 feet deep.

The big room actually had shell-covered furniture. There was this table.

And this alcove/altar.

I don't know what the Shell Grotto was once used for, but it was an oddity worth the visit and the few quid it cost to go inside.