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This is a remarkable place down a dingy back street: a winding underground passageway leading into a chamber, all decorated from floor to ceiling in sea shells. It was stumbled upon during building work in 1835 and its age and builder are unknown. There's been no scientific dating, and there are several dingbat theories, but it looks like the style of 18th- and 19th-century grottoes or follies that adorn stately homes elsewhere. The shells of the design are local, but the background fill of flat winkles is not — this type is common in Southampton.
The Shell Grotto, sometimes called the Shell Temple, is an ornate underground shell grotto in the seaside town of Margate, Kent, England. The grotto, which has a passageway and main room, was dug out from chalk, a soft limestone common in the region. 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, with approximately 4.6 million shells. Its age, creators, and purpose are unknown, which has inspired a wide range of speculation, although several other shell grottos in England were made in the 18th century. This grotto was rediscovered in about 1835 and first opened to the public as a privately-owned tourist attraction in 1837. The grotto is a Grade I-listed building and remains open to the public. Attached to the grotto is a modern museum room, cafe, and gift shop.
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These underground passages were 18th century chalk workings. They were forgotten until 1807 then used as an ice-house; in 1863 a later owner put them on show as "Vortigern Caves" complete with bogus legends. They were closed from 2004 but re-opened in 2019 with a newly built centre with a cafe, gift shop and exhibition space.
Modern art gallery opened in 2011, with a small selection of paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851), who stayed at a boarding house on this spot. But it's mainly rotating exhibitions of modern art and events.
Theatre squeezed into an old coach house with offbeat decor, and a bar with an outdoor balcony upstairs
Amusement park with a dozen rides, including the Scenic Railway, a listed wooden coaster. Many rides have age or height restrictions.
This is a "smock mill" built in 1865, the only survivor of three here. In 1920 it was fitted with a gas engine to enable work to continue on windless days. It fell into disrepair in the 20th century but has been restored.
Exhibition of Hornby model railways, Airfix models and Corgi car models. Hornby Dublo OO gauge electric model railways hold the same romanticised place in British history as pre-British Rail full-sized trains, but they're firmly rooted in the 20th century and their admirers are a dying breed. So this showcase hall and outlet is effectively a museum.