© Mick Crowhurst, with kind permission.
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| Image: The Dome. © Mick Crowhurst, with kind permission. |
| Location: |
Margate, Kent.
In Grotto Hill, near the top of Athelstan Road.
 Location by UK Streetmap
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| Open: |
Easter to OCT Mon-Fri 10-17, Sat-Sun 10-16. NOV to Easter Sat-Sun 10-16. [2005] |
| Fee: |
Adults £2, Children (-12) £1. Groups (10+): 10% discount. [2005] |
| Classification: | artificial cavity |
| Light: | electric. |
| Dimension: | |
| Guided tours: | D=20min, L=100m. |
| Bibliography: |
by
C. E. Mitchell (ny):
The Story of the Margate Grotto,
H Bridgewater (1935): The Grotto, Margate. C & N Shaw (1954): The Shell temple. The Grotto. Margate. Sylvia F Beamon (2002): Underground Mythology, 123 pp illus. Published by the author. pp 7 - 45 illus Ruby M Haslam (ny): The Shell Grotto at Margate, Suggests that the Grotto's architect was Sir Isaac Newton. This dates the Grotto to c 1690. |
| Address: |
Margate Grotto, Grotto Hill, Margate, CT9 2BU, Tel: +44-1843-220008, +44-1843-847555
E-mail: |
| Last update: | $Date: 2007/08/09 07:55:10 $ |
| 1835 | rediscovered. |
Margate Grotto is also called Shell Grotto.
It is a rather small artificial passage in the chalk, compared to
Margate Caves.
The walls and roof are covered in elaborate shell decoration in complex
patterns.
It is not known who constructed it and why he did it.
As no real explanation exists, many bizarre stories about this cave have been created over the years. The guide book tells, that it is more than 1000 years old, and of Phoenician origin. But as almost all designs show emblems of India, Egypt and the East, it is surely much younger.
The origins of this grotto, rediscovered in 1835, seem very obscure. It is undoubtediy man-made, but without any clue as to its age. The murals suggest eighteenth to nineteenth century, but could equally be much older. The grotto consists of an entrance down a fiight of steps, into a curving passage, which leads into a circular chamber called the Rotunda. This chamber is narrowed to a passage by a great circular pillar in its centre. At the further end of this chamber a passage leads off to The Dome, with arches opening out in three directions. By one of these arches the visitor passes down the Serpentine Passage, with a vision of curving walls, and over arching vaults, clothed in a brown sheen of mosaic, rich in design. It is interesting to note, that all the patterns, which are worked in shells, are almost entirely emblems of India, Egypt and the East. The designs are numerous and varied, and it has been estimated that over fifty different types of shell were used in their construction, making this grotto unique in the British Isles. Text from: Tony and Anne Oldham (1972): Discovering Caves - A guide to the Show Caves of Britain. With kind permission by Tony Oldham. |
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