THESE vintage images show one of Colchester’s most important buildings through the ages.

The Minories is a Grade II listed building[ and gardens at the east end of High Street which houses the Minories Galleries run by Colchester School of Art, which is part of Colchester Institute.

In 1915 the building, and its well known gardens and Gothic folley, was bought by the town’s first female doctor Ruth Bensusan-Butt and her husband Geoffrey Crawford and the front was used as consulting rooms Geoffrey later had three exhibitions of his artwork shown at the Minories which was created after the Victor Batte-Lay Trust bought it to house the art collectors huge collection of works, after his death.