Work to restore a historic Weymouth building has now been completed.

The Pilgrim House Trust, the charity that owns Pilgrim House in Hope Square, commissioned stonemasons, and carpenters to start a major stone and window restoration of the building.

Work began on Monday January, 8, after the stone ashlar became badly weather-worn. 


READ MORE: Pilgrim House in Weymouth to be restored to former glory


Scaffolding for the building has now been removed to reveal the newly restored building which the charity describes as a “smarter, fresher building”.

A total of £30,000 of Pilgrim House funds went towards the refurbishment which involved masonry repairs, new ashlar stone to give the building a cleaner look at the front, sash window restored, repainting, gutter cleaning, and the removal of surplus external wiring. 

All work was all carried out by local traders including Mark Hardy Stonemasons Portland Stone Firms Ltd, The Sash Window Company, Dave Kerr Decorating and CA Aerials.

Dorset Echo: Pilgrim's House in Hope Square underwent restoration in JanuaryPilgrim's House in Hope Square underwent restoration in January (Image: Weymouth Rotary Club)

Roger Fry, chairman of Pilgrim House Trustees, said: “‘It is great to see Pilgrim House unveiled again having been shrouded in scaffolding for three months.

“We are grateful to all the craftsmen who have played their part in restoring the buildings front elevation and to Rotarian Richard Burgess for supervising the work.”

The building is believed to be more than 100 years old and is one of only two buildings in Weymouth built of Portland stone.

The trust was created in 2011 to manage the house and is formed of members from the Weymouth Rotary Club. The venue served as a meeting centre for the club as well as a community hub for charitable organisation including Weymouth BID, SSAFA [Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen's Families Association) and MV Freedom.

Mr Fry hopes to see more community groups use the building now it has reopened and invites the public to a celebratory open day on Saturday, May 18.

He added: “I’m pleased to say that Pilgrim House is again fully open for business so whether it’s a community event or a social one like a small wedding party, feel free to get in touch to have a look at what we can offer.”