Shell Grotto, Margate

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.

Hypotheses include: it was an 18th or 19th-century rich man’s folly; it was a prehistoric astronomical calendar; it was a meeting place for sea witchcraft; and it is connected with the Knights Templar or Freemasonry.

[2] Since the 2007 discovery of a domed cave under the Palatine Hill in Rome with shells, mosaics and marble in similar patterns to those in the Rectangular Chamber in Margate,[3] some credence has been given to the theory that the Shell Grotto could have been created by the Phoenicians in the second half of the first millennium BCE, when they were founding many colonies from their base in Carthage;[4] however the gothic style of the arches would be a first for a pre 12th century arcade.

The earliest reference to the discovery appears in an article in a predecessor of the Kentish Mercury of 9 May 1838:[7] 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 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 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.It has remained in private ownership ever since.