A YORK pub which is lying empty and boarded up is at an advanced stage of being sold - but estate agents aren't saying whether the new owners intend to re-open it as a pub.

The Castle Howard Ox in Townend Street is one of the few remaining pubs in The Groves, following the closure of

The Reindeer in Penley’s Grove Street in 2009 and the nearby Magpie in 2005.

Steel shutters have covered over the front door and windows of the Castle Howard Ox for some time.

Signs say it is for sale by CBRE but a spokesman for the agency said it was at an advanced stage of being sold.

However, he was not able to say at this stage whether the new owners were planning to re-open its doors as a pub or find a new use for the building.

The name of the pub is said to have come from an ox called White Willy, which was owned by a syndicate who lived near Castle Howard and which was exhibited in York in 1833.

*Are you the person buying the pub - and can you divulge what your plans are for the building? Please email mike.laycock@thepress.co.uk.