The Old Cottage At Hadham Hall 70 Metres East North East Of Hall

This is an early 16th century, or possibly earlier, house, now used as a museum. It is a high-quality, small, two-storey timber-framed building with a gabled thatched roof. It may have originally been part of a larger structure.

The upper room retains a fine crown post roof. A 17th century brick front was added to the west, featuring a four-light ovolo mullioned brick window on the upper floor, and a large east-facing chimney with two octagonal shafts and three-centre brick arched fireplaces on each floor. This suggests the building continued to be used as guest lodgings. The house is narrow, running north-south. A lower, thatched timber-framed and plastered addition on the south side was likely added around 1688, when Hadham Hall was reduced in size and became a farm. An oven next to the ground floor fireplace was probably added at this time, along with the ceiling and partitions on the upper floor.

Pegholes in the wall plate reveal that the older building was originally close-studded. The original roof structure consists of two and a half bays, with a short bay for the staircase. The miniscule crown post roof features evidence of curved braces to the central truss collar, supporting a collar purlin. There are square crown posts at each end with solid knee braces to the collar purlin. The house has plank doors externally. Cast iron diamond lattice is fitted to the window beside the west-facing door. Fragments of 17th century moulded panelling are in the stair partition on the first floor. The workmanship is of very high quality. It is likely the earliest domestic building surviving at Hadham Hall and forms part of the group of historic structures on the site.