mysteryquest

The Mystery of the Shell Grotto There exists a mystifying place in England, a subterranean world of man-made tunnels and passageways completely covered in sea shells. An estimated 4.6 million of them adorn the walls, ceilings and altar in an array of artistic patterns and abstract symbols. There exists no historical information on the Shell Grotto’s origins, purpose or age. There isn’t even any local folklore. But many historians believe what we are looking at could be thousands of years old. School headmaster James Newlove and his son Joshua were clearing land in the seaside town of Margate, Kent, in 1835 when a cap stone was moved resulting in a deep hole opening up in the earth. Armed with a lamp and tied to a rope, story has it that young Joshua was lowered down by his dad for a closer look. And so goes the first known account of what would soon become known as the Shell Grotto. Gaining popularity, the site became a tourist attraction in the Victorian era where oddities