Jam makers Wilkin and Sons is set to open a tea room in Colchester.

The firm, based at Tiptree, near Kelvedon, says that later this month it expects to sign an agreement for a ‘Tiptree’ tea room at the town’s Minories Art Gallery. The Batte-Lay tea room will open in August 2015.

Wilkin and Sons joint managing director Ian Thurgood said: “We are delighted that Colchester is to be the site for our next ‘Tiptree’ tea room and plan to ensure the unique nature and character of The Minories makes it a regular venue and meeting point for both visitors to the town and its inhabitants. In particular, the walled gardens offer a place of solitude and quiet enjoyment, just yards from the town centre and Colchester Castle.”

The tea room will be named after Victor Batte-Lay, a local art collector whose widow purchased The Minories in 1956, providing a permanent site for collections of art to be displayed in Colchester, and encouraging local artists and students to engage with the community. The property dates back to Tudor times and has an unusual Gothic Folly, built in 1830 as a summerhouse.

The Batte-Lay will become the eighth ‘Tiptree’ tea room, following recent openings at Cressing Temple Barns, Finchingfield and Saffron Walden.