A remarkable 600-year-old home in Saffron Walden has gone on the market for £2 million.

Savills has been instructed to market No 1 Myddylton Place, a 15th Century, Grade I-listed home, thought to have once been three separate properties.

The mainly-Tudor building has been a maltings barn, a shop, a merchant’s house, a school for evacuees and, more recently, a youth hostel. Among some of the exceptional period features are carved external timbers, a dragon beam, many exposed beams, a vaulted upper floor, fireplaces, panelling and what is thought to have been a ‘priest hole’ where priests could hide from persecution.

The extraordinary five-double-bedroom property has a principal bedroom which boasts a spectacular vaulted ceiling with exposed timbers and braces together with evidence of the workings of the former maltings barn.

That room has been designed to provide a sleeping area at one end, a sitting area in the middle and a dressing area with bespoke wardrobes either side.

There are five bathrooms and three reception rooms, with many striking period features while the house also has an extensive modern kitchen.

Property agent Lucy Banks, director in the residential sales team at Savills in Cambridge, said: “Grade I-listed of late 15th Century mainly Tudor origins, 1 Myddylton Place has a rich and fascinating history and is believed to be Saffron Walden’s oldest inhabited property.

“In its 500 or so years it has had many uses including a merchant’s house, a maltings, a shop, a school for evacuees and a youth hostel.

“Today it is a wonderful family home, with the owners creating a lovely juxtaposition that has preserved period features such as jettied stories, numerous exposed timbers, a dragon beam, original fireplaces, panelling and what is thought to have been a priest hole, complemented by modern additions such as a superb contemporary kitchen.

“I particularly like the heavily timbered dining hall, while the principal bedroom has been cleverly designed to provide a sleeping area at the far end, a sitting area in the middle and a dressing area with bespoke wardrobes either side.

“The private garden with parking and self-contained annexe are also unexpected bonuses, relatively rare for homes in the heart of town.”

See the gallery below and visit https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbcarsclv740972

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