The Minories

About the museum

The Minories is a Grade II listed townhouse and garden at the east end of Colchester High Street. The house is believed to date from the Tudor period and was remodelled in Georgian style after the Boggis family, who were baize manufacturers, bought it in 1731. The garden has an eighteenth-century Gothic folly.

The gallery owes its existence to Clarence Victor Batte-Lay, a Colchester-born collector of paintings and furniture. After his wife died in 1955 she was commemorated by a trust, now the Victor Batte-Lay Foundation, which was to buy an old building of historic interest and show his collection there for the benefit of the people of Colchester. The foundation bought The Minories in 1956, and it is often described as the town’s oldest gallery. It closed in 1992, reopened in 1994 and later came under the management of Colchester Institute, which took the lease in 2008.

Today the foundation owns the building and the collection, which centres on East Anglian art, and a separate charity, We are the Minories, runs the spaces and the programme of exhibitions, events and workshops. The Commons Cafe operates in the ground-floor rooms at the back, and the rooms can also be hired.

Highlights

• Georgian townhouse with a Tudor-era core on Colchester High Street
• Walled garden with an eighteenth-century Gothic folly
• Collection of East Anglian art given by Victor Batte-Lay
• Changing exhibitions, events and workshops
• The Commons Cafe on the ground floor

Founded

1956

Operated by

We are the Minories (Victor Batte-Lay Foundation)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry to the gallery and gardens is free. Some exhibitions are ticketed, such as the Banksy exhibition from 10 October 2026.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The building is Grade II listed and only partly wheelchair accessible. The gardens and part of the ground floor, including the café and toilets, can be reached through a step-free garden entrance. The upper floor is not currently wheelchair accessible, and work to improve this is under way. Gender-neutral and accessible toilets are on the ground floor, with baby changing, and seating is provided in the galleries and garden.

Kids & families

• Baby changing facilities

Baby changing is available on the ground floor.

Getting there & parking

The Minories is in Colchester’s cultural quarter, close to Firstsite, Hollytrees Museum, the Castle and the Natural History Museum. The step-free garden entrance is described as opposite Firstsite.

Amenities & dining

• Café

The Commons Cafe serves freshly prepared food and hot and cold drinks at the back of the ground floor. A shop is mentioned only online.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 80 guests.

Four rooms can be hired for meetings, workshops, classes and events: the Girling Room (up to 80 seated), the Ballroom (45), the Front Room (25) and Studio Two (15). The hire rooms have Wi-Fi, and the Girling Room and Front Room are reached through the garden entrance without steps.