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Shell Grotto, Margate
The Shell Grotto is an ornate subterranean passageway shell grotto in Margate, Kent, England. Almost all the surface area of the walls and roof is covered in mosaics created entirely of seashell, seashells, totalling about of mosaic, or 4.6 million shells. It was claimed to have been "discovered in 1835", but its age and purpose remain unknown. The grotto is a Grade I-listed building and open to the public. Overview The Shell Grotto consists of a winding subterranean passageway, about high and in length, terminating in a rectangular room, referred to as the Altar Chamber and measuring approximately . The grotto is entirely underground. Steps at the upper end lead into a passage about wide, roughly hewn out of the chalk, which winds down in serpentine fashion until it reaches an arch, the walls and roof of which here onward are covered in with shell mosaic. The arch leads to what is known as the Rotunda, a central circular column, meeting at the farther side at the Dome - ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 similar to sea shells)abstract. and often represented the mimicry of architectural features from the Italian Renaissance (themselves copies from Classical times). The idea of a grotto was originally a means to enhance a dank undercroft, or provide an antechamber before a ''piano nobile'', but later it became a garden feature independent of the house, sometimes on the edge of a lake, with water flowing through it. History Early grottos were mainly of the shell grotto type, mimicking a sea-cave, or in the form of a nymphaeum. The shells were often laid out in strict patterns in contemporary decorative styles used for plasterwork and the like. Later there was a move towards more naturalistic cave-like grottoes, sometimes showing the early inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allan Marshall Brodie
Allan Brodie is a British historian and architectural historian. His expertise includes medieval ecclesiastical architecture and the history of tourism in Britain. He studied for his MA at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London in 1982, the subject of his dissertation being the chronology of the East End of Rochester Cathedral. Photographs contributed by Allan Brodie to the Courtauld's Conway Library archive are currently being digitised as part of the Courtauld Connects project. In 2021 he completed his Ph.D. (by published work) at the University of Westminster on ''The Urban Character of the Early English Seaside Resort 1700–1847''. The award was based on a new commentary, seven published papers and two books. Career Brodie works for Historic England, where he is an architectural investigator in the Partnerships Team (South West). He researches historical buildings including a Roman fort, medieval churches, castles, Georgian prisons and even an Art Deco air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens, advising central and local government, and promoting the public's enjoyment of, and advancing their knowledge of, ancient monuments and historic buildings. History The body was created by the National Heritage Act 1983, and operated from April 1984 to April 2015 under the name of English Heritage. In 2015, following the changes to English Heritage's structure that moved the protection of the National Heritage Collection into the voluntary sector in the English Heritage Trust, the body that remained was rebranded as Historic England. The body also inherited the Historic Engla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heritage At Risk
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for action and funding decisions. This heritage-at-risk data is one of the UK government's official statistics. ''Heritage at risk'' is term for cultural heritage assets that are at risk as a result of neglect, decay, or inappropriate development; or are vulnerable to becoming so. England's ''Heritage at Risk Register'' The ''Heritage at Risk Register'' covers: * Grade I and II* listed buildings (the baseline register is 1999); Grade II listed buildings in London only (the baseline register is 1991) * Structural scheduled monuments (base year is 1999) and scheduled monuments (base year is 2009) * Registered parks and gardens (base year is 2009) * Registered historic battlefields (base year is 2008) * Protected wreck sites * Conservation areas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253,651 at the 2011 census, making it one of the most populous cities in southern England. Southampton forms part of the larger South Hampshire conurbation which includes the city of Portsmouth and the boroughs of Borough of Havant, Havant, Borough of Eastleigh, Eastleigh, Borough of Fareham, Fareham and Gosport. A major port, and close to the New Forest, Southampton lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water, at the confluence of the River Test and River Itchen, Hampshire, Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south. Southampton is classified as a Medium-Port City. Southampton was the departure point for the and home to 500 of the people who perished on board. The Supermarine Spitfire, Spitfire was built in the city and Sout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isle Of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the districts of England, local government district of Borough of Swale, Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derived from Old English ''Sceapig'', meaning "Sheep Island". Today's island was historically known as the "Isles of Sheppey" which were Sheppey itself, the Isle of Harty, Swale, Harty to the south east and the Isle of Elmley to the south west. Over time the channels between the islands have silted up to make one contiguous island, which is now linked by two bridges to the Kentish mainland. Sheppey, like much of north Kent, is largely formed from London Clay and is a plentiful source of fossils. The Mount near Minster, Swale, Minster rises to above sea level and is the highest point on the island. The rest of Sheppey is low-lying and the southern part of the island is marshy land criss-crossed by inlets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shellness
Shellness is a small coastal hamlet on the most easterly point of the Isle of Sheppey in the Borough of Swale in the English county of Kent. The settlement forms part of the parish of Leysdown. It is south-east of the main village of Leysdown-on-Sea Leysdown-on-Sea is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Sheppey, in the borough of Borough of Swale, Swale in Kent, England. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 936. The civil parish is Leysdown and includes the settlements of Bay V ... and north-east of the hamlet of Harty. {{Swale Hamlets in Kent Isle of Sheppey Headlands of Kent Populated coastal places in Kent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cliffsend
Cliffsend is a village (sometimes written, correctly, as Cliffs End) and civil parish situated almost west of Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom, in the Thanet local government district. Hengist and Horsa landed near here in 410AD, and St Augustine in 597. There is evidence to show that the area of Cliffsend Village was inhabited since ancient times. Excavations prior to a housing development aCliffs End Farmin 2003/2004 revealed artefacts and a burial site dating to the Bronze Age. Pegwell Bay Country Park is located here. Also on permanent display on the cliff top at Pegwell Bay is a replica of the Viking longship '' Hugin'', which sailed from Denmark to Thanet in 1949 to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the invasion of Britain, the traditional landing of the two men, and the betrothal of Hengist's daughter, Rowena, to King Vortigen of Kent. The ''Hugin'' was offered as a gift to Ramsgate and Broadstairs by the ''Daily Mail'' for preservation. Amenities The village is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pegwell Bay
Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the English Channel coast astride the estuary of the River Stour north of Sandwich Bay, between Ramsgate and Sandwich in Kent. Part of the bay is a nature reserve, with seashore habitats including mudflats and salt marsh with migrating waders and wildfowl. The public can access the nature reserve via Pegwell Bay Country Park, which is off the A256 Ramsgate to Dover road. History Archaeologists suggest that Pegwell Bay was the landing site for both Roman invasions of Britain by Julius Caesar. In 2017 the University of Leicester excavated a large fort dating from 54 BC; it was the previous lack of such evidence that had prevented historians from fixing the exact site of Caesar's landing. Pegwell Bay as it was in 1858 is recorded in a much-reproduced landscape painting by William Dyce, now in the Tate Gallery: '' Pegwell Bay, Kent – a Recollection of October 5th 1858''. A pleasure pier was built in the 19th century in an effort to establi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oysters
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of Seawater, salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in Marine (ocean), marine or Brackish water, brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly Calcification, calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all oysters, are in the superfamily Ostreoidea. Some species of oyster are commonly consumed and are regarded as a delicacy in some localities. Some types of pearl oysters are harvested for the pearl produced within the Mantle (mollusc), mantle. Others, such as the translucent Windowpane oysters, are harvested for their shells. Etymology The word ''oyster'' comes from Old French , and first appeared in English during the 14th century. The French derived from the Latin , the feminine form of , which is the Latinisation (literature), latinisation of the Ancient Greek () 'oyster'. Compare () 'bone'. Types True oysters True oysters are members of the family Ostreidae. This family in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
