A pine door from Lawrence of Arabia's former home in north Oxford is to be sold at auction.

In 2019, journalist John Simpson and MP Rory Stewart said they wanted the nine-bedroom property to be transformed into a Lawrence of Arabia study centre and city councillor Liz Wade backed the plans.

Mr Simpson and Mr Stewart spoke out after the childhood home of TE Lawrence, 2 Polstead Road, went on the market in 2018 with a guide price of £2.9m.

Read again: Study centre plan for Lawrence of Arabia's Oxford home

The TE Lawrence Society appealed against a Government decision not to give the house listed status and said it urgently needed protection.

Now, estate agent Savills has listed the £2.5m property on its website as being 'recently sold', and the door is being auctioned by Mallams.

A spokesman for the auctioneers said: "When TE Lawrence was eight his family moved to Polstead Road, where they lived until 1921.

"Thomas Edward was affectionately called ‘Ned’ by his family, but later became known to the public as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ due to his military activities, and his subsequent book about his time in the Middle East, during the First World War.

Read more: The annual Barton Bash is back this weekend

"Lot 98 in our Oxford Library Sale on Wednesday is a painted pine door from 2 Polstead Road, and if you look carefully, you will see various pencil markings indicating the height of Ned and his siblings between 1900 and 1906.

"A really unique and charming item which is sure to be of interest to TE Lawrence fans, and which will doubtless be highly contested when it comes under the hammer next week. Estimated at £800-£1200."

The house was Lawrence’s family home from 1896 to 1921.

He moved there aged eight and stayed until 1909, later returning from time to time.

It is where he spent his final year in the city before embarking on his travels in the Middle East.

Of particular interest to historians is the timber bungalow, comprising a bedroom and study, built in the garden for Lawrence, who died in 1935.

Ms Wade said: "When the house was considered for Listing, the inspector who was taken round found no sign of the Lawrence family having lived there. In particular this cupboard door, on which the boys' heights were recorded, was not there. This was a major reason why the listing was refused.

"I don't know when it was removed or who by. The house is still in the hands of the executors although it seems that, after nearly three years the sale is at last going through."