In the seaside town of Margate, beneath a sleepy side street, an incredible underground temple lay forgotten and untouched for decades, maybe even centuries. Who put it there? When? Why? And what's with all the seashells?
These days we wouldn't irresponsibly simply drop a kid down there. No, we'd have to lower the child down carefully in a properly secured safety harness.
Boredom had something to do with it. But not bored aliens. Back in the 16th century (or so) somebody was REALLY bored when quarantining because of the black plague. So he built this thing. So he was basically the Colin Furze of his time.
It is from a seashell collector, whos wife says "Throw them away or be a bit creative." So he dug a hole in the ground to preserve them, but then I realise that he could do more than that. And this is the result of it.
I'll say with high certainty that this grotto isn't older than the mid- to late medieval ages at best, as the ancient world did not build gothic arches. Furthermore, it's definitely not from that time, as in that case there would be some other indications. It's probably, like you said in the video, a folly, a grotto. This particular man who did this, probably liked the idea of having a secret place. Location could be due to there having been a preexisting natural grotto (area seems to be made of chalk, which is where these kinds of holes often appear), which would have made this cheaper. It was most likely commissioned by a rich man, since building it yourself in your spare time seems a bit impractical (especially if everything had to be dug out). Or, perhaps, it was a scam right from the start, people building it and then "discovering" it to make money off showing it to others. Margate was already a leading seaside resort by that time. Those are my guesses.
In the below video at 33 seconds in, there is a heart shaped symbol. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1MZZD39U6gM.html&ab_channel=GreatBigStory While symbols looking like this were known in ancient times, that kind of hearts weren't really used as symbols until late middle ages, and that is telling that it definitely wasn't before the middle ages. If Margate wanted to truly get to the bottom of the mystery they would've weeded out silly theories like the 12000 years ago one.
The scam seems quite likely. Or perhaps it is a piece of genuine outsider art. There are modern examples of intricately decorated buildings and structures built by lone eccentric people. There is no reason that couldn't have happened in the early 19th century. Common characteristics include : intricate decoration, use of found objects (in this case sea shells), and a certain consistent alienating style unique to the artist. Could also be both. When I was a kid my parents would take me to what they just called "the mad garden" whenever we were on holiday on the Costa Brava. It was just a garden owned by a weird old Spanish hippie dude who created sculptures and structures out of concrete and glass representing all sorts of weird fantasy creatures or just fun abstract shapes. He built it because that was his passion, but he also charged admission fees for visitors to come and see his creations. Or in my case: climb his creations, which was allowed, and in many cases the intended purpose of the things he made. This could be something like that, just with a bit of a spicy backstory to attract more visitors.
It was likely created around 1800. It was in the grounds of a cottage called Belle Vue which was a small house owned by Lady Holland who spent her summers in Ramsgate (at Holland House). Belle Vue was a sort of afternoon excursion house for entertaining friends for tea. Guess what one of Lady Holland's favourite pastimes was when in Ramsgate- having shellwork follies built in the gardens. So when the cottage was bought off her family in the 1830s I can see why the new owner would make up a story in order to turn the place into a tourist attraction. The public wouldn't have known about it and "mysterious discovery" would, and still does, pull in more people than "early C19th garden feature."
@@jakecavendish3470 That sounds pretty plausible. There are similar grottos around the country, such as Scott's Grotto at Ware (late 18th century). The owner was quite open about it and showed lots of visitors around, and had a visitors book. For the Margate one, at least they didn't have to take the shells so far!
I love that you add info about the accessibility. I laughed when you clarified when it wasn't accessible because no shit but I have had times where I've been watching, assuming I could never do any of it myself and you'll surprise me by mentioning that it's accessible. The greatest surprise is that you even mention it at all honestly, I'm so used to being ignored it shakes me awake a little to be acknowledged.
Has there ever been a big country house on the land? For a while there was a craze for follies built like hermitages, (sometimes including an actual decorative hermit). Hermit caves were not unusual.
There was a small house on the land owned by Lady Holland who liked to build decorative features in the gardens - info from @jakecavendish3470 under another comment. So that would seem a highly likely origin!
One of the quirks of the North-East Kent Coast that fascinates me are the giant concrete bathing pools sunk into the sand so they can filll with seawater at high tide and remain filled as the tide goes out. I've seen people swimming in them, but they always frighten me, since I cannot even begin to imagine what's lurking at the bottom of them 😳
As well as the sheer number of shells, I found it fascinating to ponder that, at some point, the shells must have been graduated / graded for size, in order to make the decorative shapes..…………. And Tim didn't tell of the midsummer's day light event inside The Grotto so you'll have to visit to check that one out
Judging by the shape of the arches it's at least post-gothic so i wouldnt expect it to be more than 500 years old and definitely not more than 800. And we know it was re-discovered about 200 years ago so there's about half a millenium of time it could've probably been built in
I have much love of your adventures and all the things that I learn. Today I see you in my town. I first saw the shell grotto 50 years ago. I took a friend 6 months ago. The caves have just opened once more too. Thank you so.
My first thought when I went there many years ago was that is clearly 18th Century - probably, as has been mentioned already, a local equivalent of the Hellfire Club. That was the era when oddities like this were being made, and if it's underground you can get up to whatever you want to get up to! It does seem to have deteriorated over the last 20 years or so.
I visited Margate many times during the 1980s and 90s. My visits were usually a short walk from the car park or train station, to Dreamland, where I spent the entire day. Sometimes, a walk on the beach or a fish and chip meal in one of the cafes. I did once venture in town to visit McDonalds, And until now, i didn't have a clue that this place existed.♥
I have no more than three RU-vid channels I eagerly await for updates. This gentleman’s is one of them. His sense of humor is always a pick-me-up. Thank you!
The theme from Keeping Up Appearances! You should do some more piano videos if you get time. Maybe make a channel. There's also an old rug that someone has left unattended in front of my place, if you want it. ;)
It reminds me of the Coral Castle in Florida. We know who built the Castle and when, we just don’t know *how* he did it. It’s all very creepy and mysterious, which is the vibe I’m getting from this grotto... en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Castle
I remember when they were colourful but this is going back 50yrs ago. My mum was from Margate so as a family we would travel back to Margate every year from Cheshire for 2 weeks to stay with my nan and grand dad. The grotto was lovely then and it was colourful but I was 11.
The architectural style dates it to sometime during or after the 12 century. As no artefacts have been found, the symbols seams generic and given that similar shell grotto were follies it is likely that it is just a folly, the reasons they given for not being a folly are weak, not all follies were built on estates as a show of wealth, follies such as the Williamson Tunnels were built on land that were not part of estates and thought to be built to fulfil eccentric interests and provide employment. People not remembering something being built does not mean that it is old, just that it is not talked about which not surprising given that follies were very common back in the 18th-century.
Exactly. 400-or-whatever years ago some folk were doing a project in a small town by the sea miles from anywhere else. It wouldn't have been so unusual and there wasn't anyone else to tell about it anyway.
Hi Tim. Great entertainment, as usual I would say. Thanks for that. By the way, having Kevin Shelley (CountryHouseGent), Jay Foreman (Unfinished London), Matt Stephens, Daniel Lloyd and Simon Richardson (GCN) and of course yourself, I wonder if you learn this humourous style in british schools. I love it and hope all of you don't stop doing your stuff too early. Thank you very much!
If you decide to come to Texas I urge you to visit Houston for things right up your alley, for example the Beer Can House completely covered by flatten cans personally emptied by the owner of the house. He's dead now, no wonder. There's the world's largest funeral museum, the Orange Show built by a similar eccentric in a shout-out to his favorite fruit and the art car museum which consists of automobiles decorated by those who surely do not have enough to occupy themselves. If you come you may stay in the Barbie/Lego room in our flat so named for the grandchildren now college age who used it for those purposes. It's now mostly vacant although the grandson occasionally sneaks in to fool with the Legos. Don't tell his friends!
Cheers Tim! Great stuff. Fancy doing Hull next? They've got a weird telecoms company with white phone boxes... If there's any left. And a big port if that tickles your fancy.
Maybe that temple was build by a farmer who just wanted to surprise his wife and/ or children. Usually facts are boring comparing all the speculated storys around it :D Awesome informative video again as you always make!
Damn your RU-vid channel ist literally exploding. So many new subscribers in that short time. Amazing! Keep continuing doing this awesome content. And come to Munich I will show you around. :-)
So nice to find a new video from you. Always enjoyable listening to your wit and good nature, plumbing the depths of mystery seashell grottoes and soaring to the Alpine heights of the Netherlands (and Luxembourg), as they do.
Margate was weird enough before finding out it has a weird shell temple there... still, in a town that has a roller coaster retirement home, should we be surprised by this oddity? Great video, as ever!
My theory is that it was build by some regular guy or people just out of fun. Many similar great pieces of art were built for only two simple reasons: spare time and devotion. There doesn't always have to be a god or a rich person behind it. If it was, they surely wouldn't have used shells only.
Okay, yeah, just binge watched all you vids...HI! One of your 10,000s of new subs. Well done. XD Make more vids! Also keep your intro, I love the hello. I want to like say hello back.
@@TheTimTraveller Hellooo and Salut, I am so glad to see you over 250K now! Congrats! Been on a bit of a binge watching your old videos. Might get twice the views on them if you call them vintage.
I have watched all your videos and have just now noticed the "thump" in the intro music is not a weird drum beat but your hand knocking the E off of time.
Love your channel and it glads me that more people seem to do that too. 1st world problem: I think you need to start planning for the 100K special. Lmao.
This video is over three years old as I write this, on which basis it is vanishingly unlikely that anyone will even notice, much less care, but ... the Casino at Marino Dublin is most assuredly *not* a folly. It was built by William Chambers in the mid-18th century to function as a summer home for James Caulfield, the First Earl of Charlemont. Designed to appear as a single room from the outside, both in its dimensions and its scale, it is actually a sixteen-room mansion, with receiving areas, bedrooms, and an elaborate underground structure that ends in a room with several grated skylights to the outside. It's exactly the sort of place that should be catnip to this channel, so it was a genuine spit-take moment to hear it described as a folly.
I live in Kent, a much nice part may I say. This is the go to attraction to bring family or friends that come to visit. I must have been there about 20 times so far.
In India, these kind of undiscovered structures would have nothing but snakes 🐍..... There are still lot of underground structures in India, nobody is willing to go because of snakes
I’ve been to see this twice and “fake” or not it’s still breathtaking to see the effort made to construct it wether it’s relatively modern or made in antiquity .....for £4.50 entrance who cares? One of the reasons I was given for not carbon dating the shells was that it was once gas lit that gave off a lot of smoke which in turn would have corrupted any test done on it as the shells would have absorbed the carbon in the smoke? I’d happy go and see it again if I were ever in Margate again
Thank you very much for the quaint videos. Great sense of humour. A couple of other comments, though, if I may: Four Pounds Fifty!!!! And - the videos would be even prettier if you could avoid cutting from a moving shot to a still. Keep up the good work.
