Lectures

4th January 2023: Members’ Evening

At the Wye Historical Society (WHS) annual Members’ Evening our invited speakers Pat Marsh and Rodney Schofield gave fascinating talks on Margate Shell Grotto and the Wall Paintings of St Mary’s Chrurch, Brook, respectively. Margate Shell Grotto

The Grade I listed Margate Shell Grotto is an underground space elaborately decorated with mosaics made from 4.6 million seashells (mainly cockles, mussels, oysters, and whelks of local origin). The grotto is under the gardens of Rose Cottage (formerly Bell Vue Cottage) on Grotto Hill, Margate. The date of construction and purpose of this grotto remain a mystery. However, it is generally agreed that the Margate Shell Grotto was discovered in 1835 by workmen digging in the garden of the cottage. The first written account of the grotto’s existence was in the Kentish Gazette in 1838.

The site of the grotto was formerly open chalk grassland. This has led to the theory that the grotto was developed from a chalk pit or dene hole dug and at some time from the Roman occupation onwards. However, the iconography (images and symbols in the decoration) has no obvious connection to any historical period, even the 17th century when shell grottos became popular. One other theory is that the grotto was made in the first millennium BCE by the Phoenicians of the Eastern Mediterranean Levant region. It is thought the Phoenicians may have sailed to the Isle of Thanet on trading missions, and possibly created a settlement in the Margate area. Moreover, some of the shell mosaic patterns, for instance the floral and star-shaped shell motives, are reminiscent of Phoenician art. More can be read about this enigmatic monument and theories about its origins in Pat Marsh’s book entitled “The Enigma of the Margate Shell Grotto”. Margate Shell Grotto is open to visitors Thursday to Sunday, 11 to 4 pm. Wall Paintings of St Mary’s Church Brook.

St Mary’s Church Brook is renowned for its wall paintings dating from the 12th to 14th centuries. Most medieval churches were adorned with wall paintings to create an atmosphere of holiness to encourage devotion and faith. However, during the 16th century reformations of Edward VI and Elizabeth I, and during the Civil War of the 17th century, many wall paintings in English churches were either destroyed or whitewashed over. Some paintings have since been recovered and restored, as is the case at Brook.

The best-preserved wall paintings in Brook church are the roundels in the chancel (particularly those on the east wall above the Altar), which depict scenes from the Infancy, Ministry and Passion of Christ. The paintings now appear in shades of brown verging on black; originally they would have been a rich vermilion red with gold leaf. Due to a window alteration in the east wall some roundels, for example those depicting the crucifixion, may be missing. The roundels on the chancel north wall are generally quite decayed apart from “the bowing tree” roundel, which may be a unique depiction of Mary Magdalene meeting Christ in the Easter Garden.

Wall paintings in the nave include over the north door, St Christopher carry the Christ child, and nearby there is a painting believed to be a warning to Janglers (no bad behaviour during worship), and on the south wall of the Nave are the remains of a Marian cycle. Some paintings are no longer visible: one referring to Thomas Becket was recorded in 19th century; fragments of a Doom were found on the upper south wall of the nave in the 1960s; and a scene directly above the chancel arch may have portrayed the Last Supper. In the tower room – once a chapel, there is faded painting of Christ in Majesty giving his blessing.

Margaret Bray