DORSET’S Lord Lieutenant, a former Bishop of Canberra, and an American visitor lent a cosmopolitan flavour to a quintessentially English occasion in North Dorset.

The official re-opening of the Grade II* listed almshouses in Milton Abbas drew guests from far and wide to celebrate the completion of a project to completely refurbish the four dwellings in the centre of The Street.

Resident Sheila Jackson, 74, said she was delighted with the refurbishment of her home of nine years, but had initially objected to the disruption the project would cause.

“I was perfectly happy with the way it was. But they’ve done a wonderful job. The wet room is my favourite. The bath had become impossible with the arthritis in my knees, and the new shower is great,” said Mrs Jackson.

The almshouses were built around 1650 about half-a-mile away, and then moved “brick-by-brick” in 1780 when Joseph Damer, later the first Earl of Dorchester, flooded the nearby village of Middleton to improve the view from his new manor house.

David Duncombe-Anderson, clerk to the Tregonwell Almshouse Trust, said the biggest challenge in the five-year project had been raising the £350,000 costs.

“We’re a tiny organisation with a tiny budget, but local trusts including the Ellen Cooper-Dean Foundation and the Valentine Charitable Trust have led the way, and the Housing Corporation has met with one-third of the money,” said Mr Duncombe-Anderson.

Marilyn Cheney had travelled from Milton, Massachusetts, for the event. Villagers from Milton Abbas are thought to be among the earliest settlers in the East Coast state, said Mrs Cheney.

The Rev George Branning, the Bishop of Canberra (retired), said he had been asked by Milton’s parish priest to perform the opening, and described the village as “delightful”.

Dorset’s Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Valerie Pitt-River,s said the refurbishment was a “wonderful project”, adding that the trustees and contractors had managed the refurbishment with the same care as if it was their own homes.