An old unionist leader’s silk stockings may not sound worth wrestling over, but one pair is expected to spark a cross-border bidding war next week.

They are part of a set of elaborate court uniforms worn by Dublin-born Ulster Unionist leader Edward Carson to meet Queen Victoria at the turn of the last century.

Carson, whose statue stands in front of Government buildings at Stormont, founded the Ulster Unionist Party and led the opposition to Home Rule in the early 20th century.

The uniforms are expected to make at least €50,000 when they go under the hammer at Whyte’s Auction House on Saturday November 14.

They were inherited by Carson’s second wife Ruby when he died in 1935.

Former First Minister Ian Paisley, one of the Dublin barristers biggest admirers, drove to England to visit Ruby and filled his car with Carson’s personal memorabilia. It is believed he was offered the uniforms too but could not fit them into the vehicle. They were later sold at auction to a private Belfast collector.

Ian Paisley Jnr last night told the Belfast Telegraph they were just too expensive for his father but called on the state to buy them for the new Ulster Museum describing them as a “national treasure”.

“I understand the uniforms are in very, very good condition,” he said.

“They were offered to a few people for sale privately before but now they are to be put up for auction.

“I actually think they are a national treasure and the state should buy them to put on display at the Ulster Museum, but given the state of the economy this might not be possible.”

Ian Whyte, owner of the auction house, said there was a strong feeling the items should remain in Ulster but warned that there was a strong interest from collectors in Carson’s native city too.

Some of the other items due to go under the hammer at the same auction include specially made shoes and a hat belonging to Carson as well as two flags from the first parade of the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1912, several photographs, posters, medals and militaria from the Anti Home Rule Movement from the 1890s to the 1920s.