You can live the Wolf Hall life in heart of Shropshire for £700,000

Raynalds Mansion, one of Much Wenlock's most important historic buildings, is being offered for sale.

The seven-bedroom property, with a wealth of period features, offers the full Wolf Hall lifestyle – with all the modern conveniences of 21st century living. And its location in the picturesque High Street, means there is no need to summon the coach and horses for a visit to the shops.

Once a medieval hall, the Grade II* listed town house can trace its history back to around 1390.

And Thomas Cromwell would no doubt be mightily impressed by the extension to the rear – believed to have been built with stone removed from Wenlock Abbey following its dissolution in 1539.

He would probably have been suspicious about the priest hole, though – tailor-made for any dissident priests who might have been passing.

The building was bought by antique dealer John King around 30 years ago, and he painstaking restored it to the stunning condition it is in today.

"We were luck in that the property hadn't really been touched," said Mr King, who lives at the house with his wife Alison.

"There was quite a bit of restoration which needed doing. We made sure we got timber from that period and that was quite difficult. We wanted everything to be spot-on.

"It must have taken about two-and-a-half years to do everything. We had a specialist group of people living on the site."

The familiar frontage was added in 1682 by corn merchant John and Mary Raynalds.

There are three entrances to the front, leading to two balustrade balconies and a rare pack rest set in one of the recesses.

Another interesting feature is the internal jetty, which is thought to date back to the 15th century.

Mr King said that jetties, overhangs which allow the upper floors to be larger than the ground floor, were not that unusual on the outside of properties from the period, but it was rare to find one inside a house.

"It was probably because there would have been an open roof in the middle of the house, to allow the smoke from the fire to escape," he said.

Other features include 16th century staircase, and inglenook fireplaces.

Mr King said: "The house is packed with original features. There were lots of wonderful things we discovered, but some of these had been covered up with plaster."

However, while the property offers plenty of Wolf Hall-style splendour, there are plenty of luxuries the Seymour family would never have enjoyed. Gas central heating, en-suite shower room and an Aga are features nobody would have dreamed of in the 16th century.

Mr King, who is 70, said he and Alison were looking for a new restoration project on the coast. "I wanted to take on one last project before I'm too old," he said. "We want to live somewhere close to the sea.

"Alison and I have spent a lot of time in the country, and we've really enjoyed it, but we want to try something different," he added.

The house is being sold through the Hereford branch of agents Knight and Frank.