The London home of the 18th century US statesman Benjamin Franklin will open to the public following more than £2m of extensive restoration work on 17 January 2006.

The house – at 36 Craven Street in the centre of the city– is the only existing home of the statesman in the world and was home to Franklin from 1757 to 1774.

The conservation and renovation of the house was divided into two stages, with the first stage, involving essential structural repairs at a cost of £814,000 completed in December 1998.

The second stage, preparing the house for presentation to the public at a cost of £1.5m, will be completed in time for the 300th anniversary of Franklin’s birth.

Franklin is primarily famous for promoting the Declaration of Independence and helping to frame the US constitution.

Registered charity, The Friends of Benjamin Franklin, which was given the house in the 1970s, claims that the property served as the first de facto American embassy, while it was also the site of Franklin’s famous historical meeting with William Pitt the Elder, on the eve of the American Revolution.

Visitors to the Grade I listed Georgian terrace house will be welcomed by an actor, who will give a historical guide around the carefully conserved rooms, each with its own theme. Sound and lighting effects will also be used to portray the statesman’s life and times. Details: www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org