A historic Weymouth building will undergo refurbishment to give it a new lease of life in 2024.

Works to restore Pilgrim House in Hope Square will begin in January, with refurbishment to the sash windows and major stone restoration.

The building, thought to be over 100 years old is one of only two buildings in Weymouth built of Portland stone.

Following the grant of listed building consent by Dorset Council the Pilgrim House Trust, the charity that owns Pilgrim House in Hope Square, has commissioned stonemasons and carpenters to start a major stone and window restoration of the property.

The Portland stone which has worn differentially over centuries will be replaced by new Portland stone to give the building a cleaner look at the front.

Chairman of the Trust Roger Fry said:  "Pilgrim House is of course the home of Weymouth Rotary Club and has several other charitable bodies as tenants including Weymouth BID, and SSAFA [Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen's Families Association) and MV Freedom.

"It also hosts a number of other community groups ranging from yoga clubs to spiritualists and a craft group as well as community events, small weddings and meetings.

"It is an all-round community venue.

"It is one of the few historic buildings in Weymouth built in Portland stone and as a result at one time it was known as 'The White House’.

"In recent years some of its stone ashlar has shown signs of erosion.

"We now feel its time to put our house in order and indeed repair previous insensitive works which were done in cement render rather than ashlar and lime mortar.

"We hope the front will look first class for another 100 years."

The work will be carried out by local traders; Mark Hardy Stonemasons will carry out the masonry repairs, Portland Stone Firms Ltd will supply the ashlar stone, The Sash Window Company will restore the sash windows and Chesterman & Matthews will provide the scaffolding.

Mr Fry added: "We also intend to repaint key areas including the front door.

"We would like to apologise for any disruption caused by the works and scaffolding.

"We are however hopeful that this sensitive restoration work will complement Hope Square, which is the area that our cruise ship visitors first see when approaching the town."