The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that was published by Sunbeam Photo Ltd. of Thanet. The image is a glossy real photograph.
Although the card was not posted, a recipient's name and address stretches across the divided back of the card:
K. Bryan,
Form IVc,
2, Kings Parade,
Lower Coombe Street,
Croydon.
The Shell Grotto
The Shell Grotto is an ornate subterranean passageway in Margate, Kent. Almost all the surface area of the walls and roof is covered in mosaics created entirely of seashells, totalling about 2,000 square feet (190 m2) of mosaic, or 4.6 million shells.
It was discovered in 1835, but its age and purpose remain unknown. The grotto is a Grade I listed building, and is open to the public.
Inside the Shell Grotto
The Shell Grotto consists of a winding subterranean passageway, about 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 70 feet (21 m) in length, terminating in a rectangular room, referred to as the Altar Chamber and measuring approximately 15 by 20 ft (5 by 6 m).
The excavations are entirely underground. Steps at the upper end lead into a passage about 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) wide, roughly hewn out of the chalk, which winds down in serpentine fashion until it reaches an arch, the walls and roof of which here onward are covered in with shell mosaic.
The arch leads to what is known as the Rotunda, a central circular column, meeting at the farther side at the Dome - a shaft rising to the surface, capped to allow some daylight into the structure.
The plan of the sub-base of the Dome is triangular, and with an arch in the centre of each side. The two arches in the sides are those leading from the Rotunda, whilst the arch in the base leads into the Serpentine Passage.
This passage, with its curving walls and over-arching vaults, is rich in mosaics of varied design. At the end of the Serpentine Passage, a further arch leads into the Rectangular Chamber. Here the decoration takes on a more formal and geometric character, but still finely drawn and executed. The subjects are chiefly star and sun shapes.
The purpose of the structure is unknown, and various hypotheses date its construction to any time in the past 3,000 years. No scientific dating of the site has been carried out.
Hypotheses include: it was an 18th or 19th-century rich man’s folly; it was a prehistoric astronomical calendar; it is connected with the Knights Templar or Freemasonry.
The Shells
The most frequently used shells throughout the mosaic - mussels, cockles, whelks, limpets, scallops, and oysters - are largely local. The majority of the mosaic is formed from the flat winkle, which is used to create the background infill between the designs. However, this shell is found only rarely locally, so it could have been collected from shores west of Southampton, where it is abundant.
Discovery of the Grotto
There are conflicting accounts of the grotto’s discovery, although most agree on a date of 1835. The earliest reference to the discovery appears in an article in a predecessor of the Kentish Mercury of the 9th. May 1838:
'Belle Vue cottage, a detached residence,
has been lately been purchased by a
gentleman, who, having occasion for some
alterations, directed the workmen to excavate
some few feet, during which operation the work
was impeded by a large stone.
The gentleman being immediately called to the
spot, directed a minute examination, which led
to the discovery of an extensive grotto, completely
studded with shells in curious devices, most
elaborately worked up, extending an immense
distance in serpentine walks, alcoves, and lanes,
the whole forming one of the most curious and
interesting sights that can possibly be conceived,
and must have been executed by torch light.
We understand the proprietor intends shortly to
open the whole for exhibition, at small charge for
admission'.
