Was the Grotto a smuggler’s cave?
There was certainly a good deal of smuggling going on in and around Margate but it’s impossible to imagine the Grotto being a useful hiding place. For one thing, it’s a fair distance inland from the coast with no tunnels extending to or from the cliffs, nor any providing entrance or escape routes to nearby houses. The idea that smugglers would bring their booty to an exposed field doesn’t hold water. And why decorate it with millions of shells?

Why can’t the shells be carbon dated?
Because they are covered in soot – ie carbon – from the gas lamps used to light the Grotto in Victorian times. Carbon dating was attempted, but the results proved too unreliable because of these carbon deposits.

What sticks the shells to the chalk?
We don’t know exactly. The glue is fish based and contains volcanic elements, but also has ingredients that have yet to be identified. Whatever it is, it works pretty well!

Who owns the Grotto?
The Grotto has been in private hands since its discovery and remains so today. However, being a Grade 1 listed structure, English Heritage watches over its preservation. The continuing damp problem prompted English Heritage to enter it onto the Buildings at Risk register in the 1990s.