News & Announcements

Do You Know About Grey Friars? Have Your Say
Book now available free online

“Really Useful Knowledge”, a book commemorating Colchester’s lifelong learning heritage has been out of print for some…

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Charity closes but this site continues

“Learning Never Stops” was the charity developed by former staff and governors after Essex County Council closed…

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375 years ago! G.F. and the Siege of Colchester

 The Grey Friars site was significant in the Civil War in two ways. Click for explanation> Grey Friars…

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Free Heritage Open Day event Sept 10th

Rare opportunity! To print your own copy click> HOD 2023

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Was the amphitheatre on Grey Friars site?

With the location of Colchester’s Roman amphitheatre still a mystery could the rectangular Grey Friars site within…

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Last home-grown prospectus – 20 years ago!

It’s two decades since the last prospectus was issued under local management for Grey Friars as an…

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Open Days booking fast

The FREE Heritage Open Days events are booking fast for Sept 11th and 18th. Click link> www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/greyfriars Don’t…

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Heritage Open Days – 11th & 18th Sept 2022

DON’T MISS THIS! Grey Friars will be open for a FREE exhibition / display on the history…

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Then and now – the site

At one time, from the 1200s onwards, the Grey Friars site covered the whole rectangle of ground…

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Then and Now – the garden room

For a printable copy click>Grey Friars then and now

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Our charity is closing – but websites continue

Thank you for your past interest in our charity’s activities. This is to inform you that the Executive…

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Looking back. Grey Friars in 1998.

A feature about Grey Friars as an adult college has surfaced. Over 20 yrs ago, Grey Friars…

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New photo discovery

We’ve known about this print, preserved in the Essex Record Office, for some time. It was thought…

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Remembering the adult college – over a decade on

It’s now nearly 15 years since Essex County Council sold Grey Friars to developers, ending Colchester’s home-grown…

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1891 sold in lots; 2021 back together!

The 1891 sale in lots split up the residue of the Grey Friars estate (after the section…

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The last family living at Grey Friars

The last family to have Grey Friars as their home, the Fenns sold the site to nuns…

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500 years before the adult college

The adult college staff of the 1960s to the 2000s were not the first educators to share…

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Community in Action – Grey Friars’ Employees

As an adult college, Grey Friars was once a significant employer in the area with over 400…

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100+ years of “Room 3”

For over 100 years, the Garden Room (otherwise known as room 3) has operated as a classroom…

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Grey Friars – 40 years of creativity

Grey Friars – once a crucuble of Colchester creative talent! Click to see> Grey Friars – 40 years…

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