The building was in use during the time of Somerset Farm and was used as an Officers Mess for British troops stationed on the eastern Frontier.  Note the beautiful fanlight and the railings.

The cast-iron fence was transported by wagon from Cape Town.  Yellowwood from the Boschberg provided wood and beams for some partitions of the first floor.  Several fireplaces have the royal coat of arms built into them.  The Victorian veranda was added later.

Walter Wahl Battiss was born in Somerset East in 1906.  At one stage the family rented 45 Paulet Street, and ran it as the Battiss Private Hotel.

The Walter Battiss Art Gallery was officially opened on 24 October 1981.  Battiss was present on the day, and donated 65 of his artworks to “the people of Somerset East”.  He died in 1982.

After extensive deterioration, the gallery was closed to the public at the end of 1999, and reopened on 5 November 2004, after restoration.

Today it houses a permanent exhibition on the works of Battiss, including watercolours, oils, rock art and Fook Island.