For some time we tried to find out more about this intriguing postcard of the Shelleries at Ash Vale (ref 338/10). The answer was found, quite by chance, in the Surrey and Hants News 17 September 1915 (page 3 column 2) while searching for information about war casualties.

Fire at the Shelleries, Firacre Road.

The paper reported that at 2 o’clock the daughter of the occupant, Mr Lawrence, discovered a fire in the washhouse at the rear of the property, which was eventually extinguished leaving substantial damage to the washhouse.

The article went on to explain that the Shelleries was so called from the remarkably decorated garden in which the bungalow stood. The late Mrs Lawrence had decorated the arches, borders and fences with white seashells. In one corner there was “Nabob’s Palace”, a copy of the eastern architectural gem, the cupolas and spire covered in scallop shells and the ordinary in spiral shells. In order to benefit the Queen’s War Fund Mr Lawrence had prepared 2 gross (40) of cards bearing photographs of the garden, and the proceeds of these with a collecting box at the gate produced 30s.

The work of decorating the garden had been carried out entirely by Mrs Lawrence, and the Shelleries had become to Ash Vale what the Grotto was to Margate.

Five weeks later, on 22 October 1915, the same paper reported that Mrs Charlotte Knollys had been commanded by Queen Alexandra to thank Mr Alfred Lawrence for raising the money for Queen Alexandra’s Work for Women Fund.

The Shell Grotto at Grotto Hill, Margate, is still a tourist attraction. It consists of a series of underground rooms and passageways covered by 2000 square feet of exquisite shell mosaic. It was discovered in 1835, and nobody knows who created it.

Queen Alexandra’s War Fund worked in conjunction with the National Relief Fund. At the outbreak of World War I, the National Relief Fund was established to alleviate distress caused by the war. The fund dispensed aid to service families and dependents, as well as civilians.