The Charity

The 17th century saw the creation of three almshouse charities in Dorchester – Whetstones, Napper’s Mite and Chubbs.  These merged between World War 1 and World War 2 to become known as Dorchester Municipal Charities.  In 2022, the charitable trust became a charitable incorporated organisation and changed its name to Dorchester Almshouses.

The present charity has a maximum of 13 Trustees and the Mayor of Dorchester acts as an Honorary Member in recognition of the historical relationship between the charity and Dorchester.

The staff team manage the daily running of the flats.

We are registered with the Regulator of Social Housing and the Charity Commission (charity number 1187063). 

We are members of the Housing Ombudsman Service and The Almshouse Association.