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| Image: The Dome. © Mick Crowhurst, with kind permission. |
| Location: |
Margate, Kent.
In Grotto Hill, near the top of Athelstan Road.
|
| 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.
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| Margate Shell Grotto Gallery |
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