Grottoes

I used to make mine outside the school canteen in Green Wrythe Lane. I lived in the first street, Green Wrythe Gardens. Not a lot of foot traffic tho!!

Hi Ray yes we had no idea why we made them, suddenly like everything else it was time, usually ended up a contest between girls and boys, who also vied for the best spot to catch the passing traffic, grotto making was actually begging, for grottoes we would take dirt from under the hedges or Gardens around spread the dirt out to make a square or circle in it were placed stones and other objects in patterns, then pick flowers from peoples gardens that were lucky enough to have them and place them on the various pieces of earth that, making a picture then when people came along from work or wherever we would ask them for a penny for the grotto, sometimes they would give you a penny or half penny and we would save that money until we had enough to buy sweets. Strange again in those days we seemed to have unwritten rules, despite it being a contest, I never saw any one try to destroy anyone else's Grotto, it wouldn't have been considered fair, which mattered a lot in our day.

I was lucky in that my prefab was just around the corner and my dad was a wonderful gardener! I had the pick of the best flowers ever and my grotto was truly beautiful. - not what Dad called it tho!!!

I too remember building these grottos.We lived in Enfield in North Middlesex. It was a newly built estate so the custom may have come with families moving there from London.

You're most likely correct Eric because  I made similar grottoes  to persuade the London Dockies to part with a pay day penny. Moving to the estate when I was ten I probably thought I was too old for such a childish caper.