Café with links to 11th century - and possibly a secret passage - on the market for less than £1m

The sale of the Grade 2 listed property includes the extensive café/restaurant and a bed and breakfast with four en-suite letting rooms and a three-bed owners' accommodation.

It comes together with the adjoining Bake House which offers a separate two-bedroom cottage and potential for extending the B&B business or family accommodation.

Property agents Halls, of Bishop's Castle, say the Poppy House is steeped in history and is a large rambling building with outbuildings, courtyard and gardens.

"It is thought to date back to the eleventh century and it has even been suggested that the vaulted cellar may have been the cart entrance to the outer bailey of the original castle, leading onto the since named Market Square which would have been the bustling hub of the mediaeval town," they say.

In the raised garden the "longest stretch of the castle walls remains intact" and the original buttress can still be seen together with the remains of an old forge.

The agents, marketing the property on Rightmove, say the remainder of the building dates back to the 16th and 18th centuries including timber frame walls and ceilings and oak bordered floor.

Latterly, restoration works have led to the development of the bed and breakfast business.

Halls adds that the current owners have run the Poppy House and Bake House modestly as a family business, taking up the reins in 2009.

"Whilst turning a profit, there is now tremendous scope to further develop the business and increase margins as the blueprints of the operation are well established," the agents add.

Halls are selling the commercial property for offers in the region of £649,000.

For more information visit the Rightmove website.