A THANKSGIVING party held at Dorset County Museum to celebrate the historic transatlantic friendship between the two Dorchesters raised more than £1,400.

The fundraising event saw a live link between the county town and Dorchester in the USA marking the first time the two had been in contact for 50 years.

Hosted by Lord and Lady Fellowes of West Stafford, Lord Fellowes was in constant communication with his American counterparts The Rev Richard Kellaway and The Rev Art Lovoie from the First Parish Church in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and there was also entertainment and refreshments provided.

More than £1,400 was raised on the night and it will go towards a major refurbishment of John White’s Rectory in Colliton Street, which forms part of the museum’s development appeal for the building of a new Collections Discovery Centre.

A major element in the joint heritage of the two towns is the rectory of The Rev White. A listed building, it was here that events took place that played a key role in the founding of the United States of America.

The £13.5million project will see the museum expanded and allow it to put more of its collection of over four million artefacts on display to the public.

It is also hoped by the museum that the new centre will become more user friendly and will encourage more people to visit the town and experience the museum’s vast collections.

Cllr David Taylor, who helped organise the event, said: “The whole event went incredibly well.

“It was a clear connection to America and it was great to see so many people there, on both sides of the Atlantic. It was a really good welcome back to the connections between the two Dorchesters, with the last time we had regular contact with them 50 years ago. We are hoping to build on the communication bet-ween the two towns and the event was a very good start to that.

“The money raised is a great amount and it will go towards the new discovery centre and, hopefully, our American friends might be able to come over and see it when it is done.”

Organisers of the event have also thanked Lord and Lady Fellowes, Dorchester Mayor Cllr Peter Mann, Town Crier Alistair Chis-holm and the local companies who provided the refreshments and food for the evening.

Further fundraising eve-nts are currently being planned to support the project. For more information, please visit dorsetcounty museum.org or telephone the museum on 01305 262735.