, native_name_lang = Welsh , former_names = , alternate_names = Shell Hermitage , status = Complete , image = Shell Grotto - geograph.org.uk - 252799.jpg , image_alt = , image_size = , caption = The Shell Grotto in Pontypool Park , map_type = , map_alt = , map_caption = , relief = , altitude = above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, building_type =

Grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

, architectural_style = Stone with slate roof , structural_system = , cost = , ren_cost = , client = John Hanbury , owner =

Torfaen County Borough Council Torfaen County Borough Council () is the governing body for Torfaen, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. History The borough council was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as a lower-tier district council with borough status ...

, current_tenants = , landlord = , location =

Pontypool Park Pontypool Park ( cy, Parc Pont-y-pŵl) is a park in Pontypool, Torfaen, Wales. The park was formerly the grounds of Pontypool House and was laid out in the closing years of the 17th century for John Hanbury, an ironmaster, who is closely associ ...

Torfaen Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, address = , location_town =

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

, location_country =

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, coordinates = , groundbreaking_date = , start_date = , completion_date = 1784 , opened_date = , inauguration_date = , demolition_date = , renovation_date = 1993 to 1994 , destruction_date = , height = , architectural = , tip = , antenna_spire = , roof = , top_floor = , observatory = , other_dimensions = , floor_count = , floor_area = , seating_type = , seating_capacity = , elevator_count = , architect = , architecture_firm = , structural_engineer = , services_engineer = , civil_engineer = , other_designers = , quantity_surveyor = , main_contractor = , awards = , designations = , ren_architect = , ren_firm = , ren_str_engineer = , ren_serv_engineer = , ren_civ_engineer = , ren_oth_designers = , ren_qty_surveyor = , ren_awards = , rooms = , parking = , url = , embedded = , references = , highest_region = , highest_reflabel = , highest_prev = , highest_start = , highest_end = , highest_next = The Shell Grotto - ( cy, Groto Cregyn) - (sometimes called the Shell Hermitage) is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

(as of 7 February, 1962) late-18th-century stone built, cylindrical, slate roofed

shell grotto A shell grotto is a type of folly, a grotto decorated with sea shells. The shell grotto was a popular feature of many British country houses in the 17th and 18th centuries. It suited the Baroque and Rococo styles (which used swirling motifs sim ...

decorated with shells and animal bones on the interior. It stands on a prominent ridge above sea level, within the boundary of

south Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. It is considered to be the best surviving

grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

. It is an important local

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

commanding views south towards the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...

. A little further along the same ridge can be found the

Folly Tower A folly tower is a tower that has been built as an architectural folly, that is, constructed for ornamental rather than practical reasons. Folly towers are common in Britain and Ireland, and often do have some practical value as landmarks, or as vie ...

History

The grotto was commissioned by John Hanbury as a hunting lodge/summerhouse in the late 18th century. The Hanbury family were local

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a large ...

s who owned

. During the early 19th century, Capel Hanbury Leigh (6 Oct 1776 - 28 Sep 1861) undertook renovations of the family house and park's grounds and it is thought that his wife Molly Ann (married 14 Apr 1797, she was the widow of Sir Robert Humphrey Mackworth (died 1794)) was responsible for the interior shell decoration. Although there is no direct evidence that the shell interior was Molly’s invention, it is known that she was an avid collector of shells (and built another shell grotto near her home at Gnoll). The shell decoration within grottoes was common during the 19th century and it follows that Molly may have followed the trend and begun the work to place the shells in the grotto. The Hanbury family used the grotto for picnics during nearby shoots throughout the 19th century. During 1882 the then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

(later

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

), is said to have picnicked at the grotto during a shoot.

Construction

The grotto is constructed of local red

Pennant sandstone The Pennant Measures is the traditional name for a sequence of sedimentary rocks of the South Wales Coalfield. They were also referred to as the Upper Coal Measures and assigned to the Westphalian 'C' and Westphalian 'D' stages of the Carbonifero ...

and conical stone tiled with a fan vaulted roof (with six fans rising from six pillars) and the supporting pillars and ceiling are covered with thousands of shells interspersed with

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

and real

stalactites A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

removed from caves in the local area. The interior walls are mostly bare stone, with some embedded

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

crystals. The floor incorporates animal bones and teeth forming arcs, circles, stars, hearts and diamonds. The two remaining windows contain coloured glass.

Restoration

During the 20th century the grotto began to fall into disrepair and by the early 1990s the building was beginning to suffer from the elements as well as vandals. The roof of the grotto had collapsed, and some of the outer walls were beginning to crumble. Public access to the grotto was stopped during the 1970s. Without renovation the grotto could have been lost totally. Initial reviews of the cost of renovating the property were very high and the local council sought external financial assistance. Although some minor restoration to the roof was undertaken in January 1992, the grotto continued to suffer and the external walls were quickly becoming a major issue. It was during 1992 and 1993 that the intervention of the Welsh Heritage Authority,

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

, and the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...

, that enough donations were secured to cover complete restoration of the building. The exterior of the building was restored over eight months during 1993 and 1994 which included repairs to damaged stone work, renovation of the chimney, roof timber replacement, a new roof, a replacement door and new windows and shutters. The summer of 1994 saw completion of the exterior work, at a cost of £75,000. Although the exterior was now complete the magnificent shell interior was in complete disarray, due to the elements, the collapsed roof and vandals. In 1995 a campaign was begun to raise funds to match the local council’s resources to restore to former glories the interior of the grotto. Donations were secured once again from Cadw and from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

in Wales. Restoration of the shell interior commenced in 1996 and a specialist team of conservators - St Blaise Ltd. - did the restoration of the intricate plaster and shell work. Repairs to the ceiling, pillars, walls and floors took four months to complete. A photographic record had been taken of the shell interior some years earlier and this was invaluable in ensuring that the repairs were true to character. Many of the shells and minerals that had been dislodged had been stored away and these, together with replacement material, were used in the restoration process. British shells provide the majority of the shells used and include

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,0 ...

, cockles, periwinkles and

limpets Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended indep ...

, accompanied by a few examples of exotic species such as

pearl oyster ''Pinctada'' is a genus of saltwater oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pteriidae. These pearl oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl". Pearl oysters are not closely related to ei ...

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

and

cowrie Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana'') d ...

. The restoration of one of the finest shell grottoes in Wales was completed in December 1996, enabling residents and visitors to Pontypool to once again visit the grotto and enjoy the shell interior and panoramic views. The root work around walls and ceiling was riddled with worm. To stabilise these almost hollow structures a resin and solvent mixture was painstakingly injected into the holes with a hypodermic needle. When the solvent evaporated the resin hardened making the whole root solid. The rustic chairs were restored by piecing in new segments which were missing, repairing broken sections, and scraping back layers of modern paint. The chairs had originally been painted, the dull green colour being analysed under the microscope and dated to the middle 19th Century. With the new pieces of wood needing to be painted, it was decided to repaint all chairs in a specially mixed colour to match the original.

Access and opening times

Visiting the grotto involves a steep climb over uneven ground so access can be difficult.

References

* Pontypool Museum ''The Shell Grotto - Pontypool Park''.

External links

Information on Shell Grotto from Torfaen Borough County
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shell Grotto Buildings and structures in Torfaen Shell grottoes Tourist attractions in Torfaen Grade II* listed buildings in Torfaen Pontypool