A MASONIC chair made of timber and bell metal salvaged from York Minster after a fire in 1840 is to go under the hammer later this month.

The throne-like chair, expected to fetch between £3,000 and £5,000, was previously sold in a sale of Masonic memorabilia in 2002 at Bonhams in Leeds.

It is made of oak with a plaque below the seat engraved with a coat of arms, said a spokesman for Martin & Pole of Wokingham, who will be selling it on April 25.

He said the coat of arms belonged to the Second Earl of Zetland, who held the most senior Masonic post in York at the time of the fire, Provincial Grand Master.

"Since the original purchase in 2002, the owner has had the chair restored and re-upholstered by specialists in Harrogate, and it is back to its original glory," he said.