The Peter Coke Shell Gallery in Sheringham contains an exhibition of almost 200 colourful and stunningly realistic sculptures and arrangements made with shells from all over the world, all the work of one man – Peter Coke (1913 to 2008), actor and playwright, famous for his role as Paul Temple in the BBC radio series. 

Peter Coke was an English actor, playwright and artist, born in Southsea Hampshire on 3rd April 1913. As a young man he was inspired by sailors’ valentines which he collected in the West Indies. Soon he began to repair them and this initiated his love of shell art. Coke graduated from RADA aged 24. As a young actor Peter Coke had started to collect antiques. During World War II he served with the Royal Artillery and after the war he opened an antiques stall on Portobello Market, later progressing to a shop on New King's Road. He returned to theatre in the 1940s, and in 1950 he started writing plays as a sideline. In 1954, he became the seventh actor to take the role of Paul Temple in the long-running radio drama series. He played the role until 1968. Through his work with antiques, he became interested in shell art, and started to produce his own pieces. 

Later, in his antique shop, he had a number of Sailor Valentines, eight-sided arrangements of shells which 19th century sailors were said to have made on the return journey from the West Indies for their wives and girlfriends back home (though usually they bought them ready made). During visits to friends in Barbados he was able to collect shells to repair examples which were damaged, and from this he progressed to making reproductions of Sailor Valentines. This led to a fascination with the amazing variety of shapes and colours in which seashells, especially from tropical waters, are found.

In 1976 he “retired” to North Norfolk where he re-established his antiques business at Sharrington Hall, in Sharrington near Holt. He had his own personal gallery next to his home where he worked daily producing pieces. Having collected shells as a hobby for so many years, and having experimented with various ways of using them decoratively, he spent increasing amounts of his time in this activity until, in his early 80’s, he was persuaded by friends to mount the first of what became a series of exhibitions of his work in London. He exhibited his works at Partridge Fine Art in the 1990s, and at The Fine Art Society in New Bond Street in 2002 and 2004, and at the Sloane Club in Lower Sloane Street in December 2006. These were a great success. 

Peter Coke wanted a substantial body of his work to be available for the public to see. He began to look for somewhere to bequeath his work. After spending two years searching for a venue which was large enough to house the collection, the opportunity arose to base it in part of the former longshore fishermen’s sheds at Westcliff, Sheringham, recently restored by Sheringham Preservation Society in 2005/2006 and approximately 12 miles from his home.

In 2006 he opened the Peter Coke Shell Gallery and donated over a 100 items to the Society to be exhibited there on condition that they are displayed in perpetuity. He continued working daily on his shell sculptures until just before his death on 30 July 2008 at the age of 95, at Sharrington Hall. He bequeathed many more of his works of shell-art to the Society, which now holds about 200 items to display. Most of these are permanently on display, with some variation from year to year. 

At the Shell Gallery, visitors can see sculptures from two-dimensional geometric arrangements, such as the Sailor Valentines on which Peter Coke began his shell art work, to shell pictures in the Chinese style, to shell encrusted boxes, obelisks and figures and finely detailed model garden scenes in three dimensions, as well as temples .

The Peter Coke Shell Gallery is now maintained by the Sheringham & District Society and is staffed by volunteers from the Society. The exhibition is open daily throughout the tourist season. 

The Society has recently been very pleased to accept further generous donations of Peter Coke’s work. None of the works of shell-art are available for purchase however a number of shells from sustainable sources and other souvenirs are available to buy.

Virtual Tour

https://goo.gl/maps/GdY8ySdPWC2zLzDT7

Peter Coke (pronounced Cook) was born in Southsea on 3rd April 1913. His family came from the Midlands and was descended from Sir Edward Coke (1552 – 1634), a Norfolk man, celebrated law officer and judge. His early years were spent in Kenya, where his father was a coffee farmer. He later returned to England to attend the progressive Stowe School. During the holidays, unable to return to his family in Kenya, he stayed with his distant relatives at Holkham Hall.

He had six careers throughout his long life.

1. Consular official (briefly).
2. Actor, achieving lasting fame as Paul Temple in the radio serials by Francis Durbridge. (Through YouTube you can hear numerous examples of Peter Coke playing Paul Temple in recordings of the original radio programmes).
3. Playwright, with many successes to his credit, including “Breath of Spring”.
4. Army officer during World War II.
5. Antique dealer, with a shop in the King’s Road, Chelsea, for many years.
6. Shell artist extraordinaire.

Even as a young actor he had started to collect antiques. Later, in his shop, he had a number of Sailor Valentines, eight-sided arrangements of shells which 19th century sailors were said to have made on the return journey from the West Indies for their wives and girlfriends back home (though usually they bought them ready made). During visits to friends in Barbados he was able to collect shells to repair examples which were damaged, and from this he progressed to making reproductions of Sailor Valentines. This led to a fascination with the amazing variety of shapes and colours in which seashells, especially from tropical waters, are found.

In 1976 he “retired” to North Norfolk where he re-established his antiques business at Sharrington Hall, near Holt. Having collected shells as a hobby for so many years, and having experimented with various ways of using them decoratively, he spent increasing amounts of his time on this activity until, in his early 80s, he was persuaded by friends to mount the first of what became a series of exhibitions of his work in London. These were a great success, with about half the pieces on display usually being sold at prices far greater than he had originally imagined. His work has been purchased by many well-known customers in the arts and entertainments world and by members of the royal family. Eventually, he turned his antiques show-room into a shell-art gallery and devoted all his time to his art. He continued working daily on his shell sculptures until just before his death in July 2008 at the age of 95.