It was the third time we'd visited the ornate subterranean Shell Grotto in Margate, which is shrouded in mystery.
It has been open to the public since 1838 (although some accounts state 1837) and has remained a privately-owned attraction ever since. Most experts agree on 1835 as the date of its discovery, but no documentation that pre-dates this, or explains its origins, has ever been found.
The Grotto is a tunnel cut into the solid chalk, and is 70 feet (21 m) in length with walls of 8 feet (2.4 m) high, which are adorned with magical mosaics consisting of 4.6 million mussels, cockles, whelks, winkles and oyster shells, set out in strange patterns and symbols.
The Grotto is divided into five sections- the Entrance Passage, the Rotunda, the Dome, the Serpentine Passage and the Altar Chamber.
Here is my crumpled guide/map, which is a 1954 interpretation thought to be the work of Conan and Nellie Shaw, who published a pamphlet on the Grotto. The guide is entirely subjective- those who believe the Grotto to have been a devotional space see symbolism in the shell designs, and those who think the Grotto was built for secular use could well interpret these as patterns instead.
You are not supposed to touch the shells in the Grotto (I only read the notice dictating this after my first visit as I exited the tunnel- oopsie!), but you can feel this modern panel, designed to show how colourful and dazzling the shells must have looked in their heyday, before damage from the gas lamps used to light the passage for nearly 100 years caused carbon deposits, and water penetration occurred.
You enter via one set of stairs down from the shop to the Museum Room, then another down into the Entrance Passage. You pass chalk walls before the shells spring into view.
Accounts conflict upon how the Grotto was discovered, with the first account written in the Kentish Gazette, in May 1838, detailing how workmen making alterations to Belle Vue Cottage in 1835 chanced upon a large stone impeding their progress. The worker thrust his spade into the ground and it simply vanished. (I do question this- it does sound remarkably similar to how the nearby Margate Caves were discovered, so perhaps the particular piece of research dictating this is slightly misinformed.) The master of nearby Dane House School, James Newlove, was made aware of this and he lowered his young son Joshua into the ground on a rope; candle in hand. God knows what modern health and safety would make of this, but Joshua told them his astonishing tale when he reached the surface.
Fanny Newlove, the daughter of James who would have been around 12 at the time of the below events, and who took over the running of the Grotto for a number of years disputes this. According to her account, her brother had found out about the Grotto some time before, but wouldn't dare tell their father.
On finding the chalk loose at one end of the passage next to their house, Joshua Newlove pulled the rough blocks away until the opening was wide enough to fit through. Both Fanny and Joshua went inside, along with two or three local girls, and examined the Grotto by having a candle in a lamp dangling from the neck of one of them.
Here we are approaching the Rotunda (it's the right hand side of the photo).
Was this place an ancient temple? Or a meeting place for a secret sect? Interpretations of the weird shell designs include trees of life, phalluses, gods, goddesses and animals.
The skylight in the Dome allows natural light to penetrate, and sits 4 metres above the ground.
Debate continues as to what the Grotto actually is. Could it be a rich man's folly, such as those which exist in the grounds of wealthy landowners, having completed their Grand Tour? Such follies certainly exist around the country, but the whole purpose of a folly was to show off wealth and status, so a fact that this grotto is hidden negates this. Also, these were popular in the 1700s, so is it realistic to assume that all records would have disappeared by the 1800s?
There are traces of modern (early 19th century) brick in one of the arches, however that could be a repair.
We snake down the Serpentine Passage, and have to question the logistics of the above debate. The Grotto was below farmland, on high open ground next to a busy track. Why would an aristocrat build a grotto below pastureland? And how would the transportation of 4.6 million shells- including sorting and creating the mosaics, and utilising the labour required to do so, go unnoticed?
A panel from the Altar Chamber.
A 2006 theory put forward the idea that this enchanting Grotto was built by the Knight's Templar (a Catholic military order formed in 1119)- or their associates- sometime in the 1100s. This conclusion was reached after looking at painstaking measurements of angles inside the Grotto, and the way the light was projected.
This wall is of modern construction, as a World War II bomb penetrated the Grotto in 1940.
The theory that the Grotto was a dungeon doesn't really ring true. Why would a holding cell be so elaborately decorated?
The altar part of the Altar Camber, and this room measures 15ft by 20ft (5m by 6m).
The Grotto was Grade I listed in 1973, meaning English Heritage watches over its preservation. Concern about damp led to it being put on the "at risk" register in the 1990s, but extensive conservation work led to it happily being removed in 2012.
Was a female deity worshipped in the cave? An eight-pointed star occurs repeatedly on the walls, and in several cultures that symbolises creation. It's similar to the Star of Ishtar, the goddess of Mesopotamia, which represents love, fertility, sex and war. It originally represented the heavens, but became associated with the planet Venus.
I'm naughty, and described this plinth as "somewhere to rest your pint!"
Most of the shells could be found locally, as they're native to Britain- including cockles, whelks, limpets, razor shells and oysters, but there are some exotic shells, such as the Caribbean queen conches in the corner of the Altar Room.
The majority of the mosaic, however, is the flat winkle, which is found only rarely locally. They could have been collected from shores west of Southampton, where they're abundant. They form the background infill between the designs.
Is it me, or does the shell pattern above this plinth resemble a uterus and ovaries? It could tie in with the female deity worshipful theory.
Was it a Roman temple? Could it have been something to do with dark-age rituals? Was it a shrine involving pagan arts? Or maybe it was some kind of prehistoric astronomical calendar- or astrological chart? As the construction could have been any time in the past 3000 years, conjecture abounds and will continue to do so.
Re-entering the Serpentine Passage.
During their 2009 condition survey, five samples of mortar were sent off- and each one found to be different! Some were identified as lime mortar type and some as "Roman cement type." The differences could be explained by subsequent repairs.
Could the stunning cave originate from the Phoenicians? The name of the area- Thanet- comes from the Phoenician goddess, Tanit. But it's a tad unrealistic as, despite being excellent sailors, their civilisation was based around Lebanon and Syria.
Approaching the Dome, and the shells cannot be carbon dated as a number of samples would have to be provided (to mitigate dating a Victorian- or later- repair) and the cost is high. The Grotto has other more pressing conservation issues at present.
The cement which glues the designs to the walls is believed to contain fish oil and crushed shells, and is similar in constitution to Roman cement. The motifs, however, contain Greek, Indian and Egyptian influences.
The shells cannot be cleaned as removal of their sooty coating would create a good deal of moisture, which is the last thing this underground passageway needs, plus it could damage the mosaics. Also, the shells look to be mostly white, so you'd only replace one kind of discolouration with another.
It's been said that the Grotto was not a limestone quarry. There are other accessible places to dig, and quarries are not excavated in an arch-shaped fashion. I disagree, and have to say that this theory does have some appeal- after all, nearby Margate Caves was originally dug as a chalk mine and then sealed off when it reached the end of its working life. With the Shell Grotto, who's to say that they (whomever "they" were) didn't get artistic, and play around adding arches and decorating the surfaces for the sheer pleasure of it?
After 1932, and soon after the the recent new owner took ownership, gas was replaced by electricity.
The Museum section at the top of the stairs has a few cabinets of associated treasures on display, plus an interactive table where kids can do some colouring-in.
The Grotto has featured in photoshoots for magazines, newspapers and book covers, and has been used for filming. It's been on television as part of factual programmes, and I've seen it featured in George Clarke's Amazing Spaces.
Questions, questions, questions- the "why" part of the equation in relation to the Shell Grotto is discussed on this wall.
In terms of celebrity, both Paloma Faith and Jarvis Cocker (I've seen him- I used to work near his house, in Hoxton) have visited. Lewis Carroll (author of Alice In Wonderland) also came here, but the Grotto didn't inspire the Alice books- he'd already written them by then and was already a celebrity.
The same artist, Ann Carrington, who made the bronze shell lady entitled Mrs Booth, which sits on Margate Harbour Arm, also created 12 life-size shell ladies from real scallop shells. Similar in design yet distinctly unique, they appear in different locations all over the summer (I have seen one outside the Turner Contemporary art gallery before), and this gal permanently resides in the Shell Grotto shop. On this day she was welcoming us by the door.💗
And what do I think? The masonic and Knight's Templar theories certainly appeal to me, and the idea that the Shell Grotto was some kind of devotional space. Will we ever know? Only if someone does manage to unearth evidence of its existence before 1835.
I do like mysterious places like this, and will certainly pop in again next time I'm in Margate.
Until then...
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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