Try something new today! Our weekly classes include arts & crafts, languages, exercise and wellness. @BBCABraintree @BraintreeCommunityCentre OUR CLASSES Art History 4 week course. Starting September 2026! @BBCABraintree @BraintreeCommunityCentre REGISTER INTEREST

Your Community in Braintree

As a Centre, we aim to improve the condition and quality of life of those living in the district through the provision of facilities at the Centre for education, recreation and leisure time activities.

BBCA Classes

Weekly Classes

We offer weekly classes in a range of subjects from arts and crafts to languages, all with experienced tutors in a friendly atmosphere.
Sign up for a class here!

Room & Hall Hire

We have a variety of rooms available for hire, so whether you need to hold a group meeting for 70 people or a children’s birthday party, just the once or every week all year, we can help.

Textile Hub

Helping unwanted craft materials get passed on at very low cost!
It’s green, it’s fun and it saves you money!

Public Art Directory

Braintree District is home to a diverse collection of public artworks ranging from traditional bronze statues to contemporary metal sculptures.

Tutors Required

We are looking for the following Tutors to start September 2026:
– Calligraphy
– Flower Arranging
– Card Making

Upcoming Workshops

View the full programme here.

10 September 2026

Art History – 4 Week Course

Staring 10th September for 4 weeks £36 for the course, payable in advance. Week 1: In the beginning. Foundations of Art as we know it, focusing on prehistoric expression and primal mediums. Week 2: Marianne von Werefkin. Exploring the intense emotion of expressionism though opaque, fast drying mediums. Week 3: St Peter Blake, diving into pop and mass media culture of the art of appropriation. Week 4: Analysing the profound impact of Chinese and Japanese woodblock prints and paintings on Western masters. Spaces limited. Image credited to Marianne Von Werefkin

£36
Find out more
19 September 2026

Textile Hub September 2026

Sale of Craft and Textile Goods At Braintree Community Centre Do come along and socialise, make new friends, enjoy tea, coffee and cake. We currently have stocks of fabric, wool, buttons, cottons & various craft supplies for sale at affordable prices.

Find out more
26 September 2026

Autumn Woodland – In Thick & Thin Acrylics

With David Pasfield. Using an underpainting technique to apply a first impression painting, followed by texture build-up using a palette knife with heavy body acrylics in an impasto style. Equipment & Materials -    Acrylic paints – vibrant colours (Winsor & Newton Galeria range are good) – do not worry if you do not have a large range of colours, the tutor can provide some extra. -    Extra heavy matt gel (impasto). -    Canvas or MDF or hardboard, pre-primed with white gesso.  At least 50x50 cm in size. -    Large bristle brushes and palette knife -    Easel – preferably free-standing but a […]

£48
Find out more

Latest News and Updates

If you are feeling sad or down, there is always help available and someone to talk to!
Here are some contact numbers, just in case.

MIND has a helpline: 0300 123 3393 Mon to Friday 9am to 6pm
SAMARITANS: call 116 123, 24/7
CRISIS run a 24/7 textline: text SHOUT to 85258 if you don’t feel you can talk but want to communicate. 

Testimonials

  • Braintree Rethink Art Group use the big hall every week ... very clean....warm & friendly welcome.....Excellent venue X - Trina (May 2017, via Facebook)

  • I really enjoyed the Class on June 9th with Maggie. She's an excellent tutor with lots of experience. The piece I made is going to look great mounted and it adds to my portfolio of techniques. Roll on the next class on 23rd June!! - Brenda (June 2018)

  • Excellent, welcoming and flexible space, a real refuge for those in need of it. - Richard (2018, via Google)

  • Fab day as per usual, can highly recommended Maggie Harling as a tutor and braintree community centre as an excellent venue, thank you all x - Leigh (August 2018, via Facebook)

  • A good place to have a meeting. It appears to be on a main road through Braintree, though has plenty of parking once you drive in. - David (2017, via Google)

  • Friendly, professional and helpful staff, very clean and convenient to town. Excellent facilities offering a wide and range of adult classes and activities. - Debbie (September 2019, via Facebook)

  • A great looking place that offers a fair few things to sign up to for reasonable prices to help you learn all types of things. - Jordan (May 2018, via Google)

  • This is a really nice, quiet place to have meetings. It is an old house that looks like a Georgian building. It has had some modifications and extensions and the area is just lovely, just beside a shopping area. - Max (2019, via Google)

Community Partners