[4] His son, Thomas Boggis, inherited the house, and employed an architect, probably John Alefounder (1732–1787) to remodel the building, turning parts of it into an elegant Georgian residence.

[10] In 1956 Dr. Ruth, who had survived her husband, sold The Minories along with the garden to the Victor Batte-Lay Trust, named after the art collector who had been a hereditary freeman of the town.

[12] The Minories, run by the Trust as The Minories Art Gallery, presented work by Edward Bawden, Leon Underwood, Eric Ravilious, Frederick Hans Haagensen, Harry Becker, John Bratby, John and Paul Nash, Lucien Pissarro, Cedric Morris, Christopher Wood, Bill Brandt, Maggi Hambling, Jacob Epstein and Mark Wallinger.

[3] Upon her death in 1955, Margaret Batte-Lay bequeathed her husband's collection of art objects to "the people of Colchester … in particular those who shall take an interest in the artistic and antiquarian features of that town".

By the end of the decade, the Trustees had acquired new works through purchases, loans and gifts with the intention to expand the Permanent Collection.

[13] The acquisition and subsequent sale of Robert Bevan’s The Cab Yard in the 1970s paved the way for the purchase of the adjacent property as a new exhibiting space, which became known as The Girling Room.

As a result, the Contemporary Art Society gifted generously to the collection with works such as Margaret Mellis' Lilac Yellow and Ian McKeever's Sand and Sea Series No.

The Victor Batte-Lay Trust then developed a policy of acquiring work by 20th century artists preferably with strong regional links.

[15] They are not on permanent display but a selection of the Victor Batte-Lay art collection can be viewed in temporary exhibitions at Colchester's Firstsite and on loan in regional and national institutions.

The Victor Batte-Lay Foundation took back control and created a subsidiary body, We are the Minories with support from Arts Council England and the Cultural Regeneration Fund.