Skulferatu #105 - Shell Grotto, Newhailes, Musselburgh

 

On a stroll through the Newhailes estate, I took shelter in the woods from the ominous dark clouds gathering in the sky.  There I came across a small and rather sorry looking building, this being the remains of the Shell Grotto.  It was once a rather grand, little structure that stood as a central feature in the water gardens.  These were a series of pools that were fed by a burn that runs through the estate.  The pools are now long gone and are just a series of dips in the ground.

 

The Shell Grotto

 

In the Eighteenth Century, Shell Grottos were the must haves for fashionable, rich British landowners, and the owners of Newhailes, the Dalrymples, were rich enough and fashionable enough to have one built.  The Shell Grotto in Newhailes was one of the first built in Scotland and was probably built in the 1770s. 

 

The Shell Grotto

 

Entrance to the Shell Grotto

 

The Shell Grotto was constructed of large boulders and rubble, with the façade at the entrance being decorated with furnace slag and sponge-stone to give it a mysterious and eerie look, like the entrance to a volcanic cavern.  It was originally roofed in slate and had a floor of black marble.  The walls inside were at one time lined with wood covered in plaster, in which were embedded thousands upon thousands of seashells, precious stones and fragments of coloured glass all arranged into various patterns. 

 

The shells in the walls not only came from the local beaches, but also as far away as China.  In 1774, Jenny Dalrymple wrote to her brother William, who was in Canton, and asked him to find her shells from there for the grotto.

 

As well as being designed as a place for quiet contemplation, reading or just retreating from life for an hour or two, the Shell Grotto was also meant to be a place of mood and mystery.  Excavations there a few years ago, found that there had at one time been a chimney and a ‘stoke hole’ behind the grotto as well as flues in the walls of the building.  Rather than being constructed for heating the grotto, they appeared to have been designed to produce and emit smoke, to add a mysterious atmosphere to the building.

 

Though abandoned for many years, the interior of the Shell Grotto was intact up until the 1950s, when it was vandalised and set on fire.  Now the roof and the interior decoration are all gone.  Today, there are thousands of shells lying on the floor of the Grotto, but I don’t think any of them are the original shells from the walls, but rather are a recent addition in an attempt to put some shells back into the Shell Grotto.

 

Shells in the Shell Grotto

 

I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me on my stroll to the Shell Grotto, in a dimple on a rock in the entrance façade.

 

Skulferatu #105

 

Skulferatu #105 in a dimple on a rock in the entrance façade

 

Skulferatu #105 in a dimple on a rock in the entrance façade

 

Map showing the location of Skulferatu #105

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.942634

Longitude -3.081671

 

what3words: crops.impose.park

 

For an idea of what parts of the decoration inside the Grotto may have looked like when it was complete, visit the website for the Shell Grotto in Margate.

 

I used the following sources for information on the Shell Grotto –

 

 

Tourist Information sign at site

Newhailes
By Hilary Horrocks
2004

 

Canmore
Shell Grotto, Newhailes

 

Skulferatu #104 – Ladies’ Walk, Newhailes, Musselburgh

 

I discovered the delights of the estate at Newhailes a decade or so ago when I was out cycling.  Going down a narrow path I came across a slight hill on one side with a path leading up to a gate.  So, of course, I had to go through and have a wander about to see what was there.  And what was there, was a pleasant walk through some woods up the Palladian style country house, which is Newhailes House.  Built by the architect, James Smith, in 1686, the house was once the home of the Bellenden family and was then inherited by the Dalrymple family, close relatives of the Bellends, sorry cheap joke, Bellendens.  In 1997 the house was given to the National Trust.

 

Newhailes House

 

Today, on a leisurely walk through the estate, I cut along the pathway through the fields in front of the house, to the Ladies’ Walk.  The Ladies’ Walk is an elevated path that runs for about a quarter of a mile through the grounds of Newhailes.  It was designed to allow the rather delicate, aristocratic ladies who lived in, or were visiting Newhailes House, to partake in gentle exercise and conversation with each other.  The path bordered a sheep field on one side and a field of cattle on the other, so being elevated it meant the good ladies of the time wouldn’t be bothered by pesky livestock.  It also provided views over the surrounding grounds and countryside.  At one time there was a humped bridge that led to a viewing platform.  There, visitors had unimpeded views to the Forth and down to the hectic and the busy harbour in Musselburgh. 

 

Picture of how Ladies’ Walk would have looked in the 18^th Century

from the tourist Information sign at site

 

Built around the 1740s, the walk originally had a hedge on its eastern side to act as a barrier against the wind. Now, most of the walk is covered in trees, bushes, thistles and lots of prickly plants, though there are bits that are covered in wild grasses which are accessible. 

 

While out on my walk I clambered up a low stone wall and walked through the thick, damp grass on part of the pathway.  Feeling quite genteel, I took in the views and breathed in the fine summer air, just like the ladies of old would have done a couple of centuries ago.

 

The present view along Ladies’ Path

 

The present view along Ladies’ Path

 

View of Newhailes House from Ladies’ Path

 

View from Ladies’ Path

 

Making my walk to the red brick remains of where the bridge to the viewing platform had stood, I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me in a gap where the cement had crumbled away.

 

Remains of the platform for the bridge

 

Remains of the platform for the bridge

 

Skulferatu #104

 

Skulferatu #104 in a gap between the bricks

 

Skulferatu #104 in a gap between the bricks

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #104

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.944467

Longitude -3.077433

 

what3words: starts.fines.civic

 

I used the following sources for information on Newhailes and Ladies’ Walk –

 

Tourist Information sign at site

 

Newhailes 

by Hilary Horrocks

2004

 

Canmore

Canmore - Ladies Walk, Newhailes