Venue Hire

Looking for a beautiful space to hire in the centre of Colchester?

The Commons Café is run by Common Ground Colchester, a cooperative with an active and thriving community at its heart. The Café is an important hub not only for our community, but for everyone - it’s where we meet, eat, drink, and make connections.

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The Commons Cafe is available to hire outside our usual opening hours for private events, such as parties and celebrations, live music and performances, regular meetups, socials and networking drinks, creative workshops and cooking demonstrations. 

You can book the whole café for sole use in the evenings from 4-11pm, and all day Monday and Tuesday when the café is closed to the public.

Private Hire for Sole Use

    • 70 standing room (no tables or chairs)

    • 55 theatre style seating (with chairs in rows)

    • 30 cabaret seating (with bistro tables and chairs)

    • Speak to us if you need a larger capacity, and we can advise on using the Minories’ garden for events alongside the café.

    • £30 an hour (£15 an hour for members)

    • Please note, there is a minimum spend on the bar of £300 on a Friday and Saturday night.

    • There may be an extra cost for use of the garden for larger events.

    • The café hire comes with a licensed bar, staffed by Common Ground Colchester.

    • We have attractive bistro tables and chairs for the café and garden.

    • We can provide music, or you can play your own through our speakers.

    • Other facilities, such as a projector, screen and a sound system may be available on request.

  • There is no parking on site, but we are close to many city centre car parks, including Priory Street and Greyfriars Car Parks, and Britannia and the NCP on Osborne Street.

Make The Commons Your Hub

We also welcome small meet-ups during café opening hours if you want to use our space for one-off meetings, drop-in workshops, or regular socials, if your activity sits well alongside our public opening.

Get in Touch

If you are interested in hiring our space, fill out the enquiry form and email it to events.thecommons@gmail.com, or pick up an enquiry form from the café.