Discovered in 1835 by James Newlove - who broke through into its roof while digging a duck-pond - the Shell Grotto is an ornate subterranean passageway in Margate, Kent. 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, or 4.6 million shells. It was discovered in 1835 but its age & purpose remains unknown.
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I grew up in the next town to Margate and have not been to the Shell Grotto for years. Sadly gas lighting has ruined much of the color but it must have looked magnificent when first built.
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