Baltic Cottage

Baltic Cottage is a timber-frame hall house, dendro-dated to 1438, with a cross-wing added in 1537/8 and 19th-century and later extensions to the rear. The timber frame is rendered externally and has a plain tile roof.

The front wing is two storeys high and contains an entrance hall and living room on the ground floor, and two bedrooms above. The left-hand bay originally formed part of a mid-15th century hall house, with a later inserted ceiling and a central stack, the remaining portion of which is now part of Baltic House. The right-hand bay is a mid-16th century cross-wing. A dining room, kitchen, and a third bedroom are located in the 19th-century extension at the rear.

The exterior features primarily date from an 18th-century remodelling, including multi-pane sash windows and a timber dentil cornice.

Internally, much exposed timber framing is present. The sitting room displays wall posts and plates of the hall house, though the main transverse beam is a fake plaster masking a modern reinforcing member. A bedroom above reveals the front wall plate and tie beam of an end truss with arch brace and later studwork. The main hall roof structure is visible in the attic, including a crown plate, collars, rafters, and a crown post with a curved brace. Above a modern staircase in the cross-wing, a tie beam and rafter form the original rear gable, with a wall plate and rafter ends visible in the bedroom above. The roof structure of the cross-wing has been altered, but rafters and a half-hipped rear gable structure are still visible in the attic.

The eastern half of what is now Baltic Cottage originally formed part of an open-hall house dating from 1438. A cross-wing was added to the western end in 1537-8 and, possibly at the same time, a first floor and a central stack were inserted. Around 1800, a new entrance wing with reception rooms was added, the older building was externally remodelled, and the angle between the two gradually infilled. Between 1944 and 1966, the house served as a ticket office for the Henley regatta. In 1976, the house was divided into two properties: the Georgian riverfront block and half of the medieval hall became Baltic House, and the other half of the hall, the cross-wing, and part of the rear extension became Baltic Cottage.

Baltic Cottage is designated at Grade II for its architectural significance, incorporating part of a mid-15th century hall house with a mid-16th century cross-wing, both retaining significant original timber framing.