Friends of St Leonard at-the-Hythe Colchester

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Friends of St Leonard at-the-Hythe Colchester

The Friends of St Leonard is a local volunteer group working with The Churches Conservation Trust to preserve and maintain this magnificent building.

We ensure it remains open to the public and available for use by the local community. The Friends of St Leonard-at-the-Hythe cares for St Leonard’s Church in partnership with The Churches Conservation Trust, the national charity protecting historic churches at risk. www.visitchurches.org.uk
If you would like to join the Friends of St. Leonard’s, please do get in touch with us by visiting our website
We will have series of events during this year and others planned for 2023

09/06/2026

London born, Essex raised, Julie has travelled extensively with music, both solo and with Fernhill, the experimental folk group she formed with her partner Ceri Rhys Matthews who she met at art school in Kent in 1979. Julie settled in Wales with Ceri, a native Welsh speaker, after college, learning the language and raising their children bilingually.
Over the years she has collaborated and recorded with musicians from a broad range of genres including John Cale, Robert Plant, Danny Thompson, Kenya’s Ayub Ogada and the early music group Sinfonye.
Her forty year artistic journey was recently marked by a limited-edition double vinyl album called Retrospective, recently released.
See http://www.juliemurphymusic.com for details, pics etc.

01/06/2026

Our second local history talk is this Thursday 4 June at 7pm at St Leonard’s at the Hythe
John Rayment talking about the history of Thames Barges
All welcome Free entry
Come and hear about these magnificent vessels near to the old port of the Hythe

24/05/2026

An exciting event for next Saturday . Evy has performed at several venues both locally and nationally...check her out online! She supported Fraser Morgan at St Leonard's last year.

16/04/2026

SATURDAY OPEN DAYS:
Reminder that the church is normally now open on 1st and 3rd Saturdays each month from 2pm - 4pm. The church is also still open as normal every Tuesday from midday- 2pm.
Why the church door photos? For years having never been able to open the door to the Lady Chapel, we now have a key to the door! A small but welcome success.

21/03/2026

Sunday 22nd 3pm for 3.30pm
Reminder: You are invited to this event to celebrate the publication of our new book about the Hythe and its church.
Free event. Refreshments. All are welcome.

16/02/2026

We're back after 6 weeks hibernation with usual Tuesday openings, midday - 2pm. New for 2026, we're now open on 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 2 - 4pm.
Pop in for a browse, chat, coffee or just for a quiet moment. Our new book on the church and Hythe is still available at discounted £10.
Contact us by Messenger with your email address and we'll add you to our Friends mailing list to keep you up to date with news and events.

09/02/2026

Thanks to our friends at Hollytrees for giving our new book a nice plug.
Copies will be available too when our Tuesday midday to 2pm openings start again on 17 Feb... also 1st and 3rd Saturdays 2 - 4pm from March onward.

09/01/2026

Happy New Year to all our Facebook friends.
Lots of important projects are going on behind the scenes - the best way to keep in touch is to join our Newsletter mailing list - send us your email address via the Messenger link.
In the meantime, today marks 99 years since the movement of our church clock was dedicated. We thank again our Friend and Everllence UK Ltd whose generosity in funding repair and service of the clock will see it keeping good time in its 100th year.

18/12/2025

Quick reminder of our wonderful carol service. Full details at separate Event link.

15/12/2025

THE NEW BOOK IS HERE!!!
'The Medieval Church of St Leonard-at-the-Hythe
A 1000-year history of Colchester Hythe and its church'.

During the 15th century the Hythe was the wealthiest area of
Colchester. Prosperity from the export of local textiles to Russia
and Spain funded the fine medieval church of St Leonard’s we see
today.
This book explores the history of the Hythe and its church. From
Civil War and earthquake damage to local legends, drunkenness,
schooling and more. Discover the 1000-year rise and fall of
commerce and industry ending with closure of the church and the port it once served.
Dozens of newly commissioned photographs sit alongside historic
maps and illustrations including rarely seen historic images by acclaimed photographer Bill Brandt.
In 115 pages, this comprehensive guide to the history and fabric of the church and its churchyard is perfect for a visit or reading at home.

The book will be for sale at the discounted bargain price of just £10 at the carol service (see separate Event), on Tuesday 16 (midday - 2pm) and Saturday 20 Dec (2 - 4pm).

Address

St Leonard-at-the-Hythe, Hythe Hill
Colchester
CO12NP

Opening Hours

12pm - 2pm

Website

http://www.stleonard-at-the-hythe.org.uk/

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