subject: Discover Norman Splendour In An Old English Hamlet At Sheffield's Lost Castle [print this page] Famed as the site where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned, Sheffield's Lost Castle occupies a unique place in the history and the heart of the old English hamlet where it is situated. Constructed in 1270, this once imposing structure enjoyed a reputation as one of the finest castles in north of England during its heyday. Later destroyed by Roundheads who questioned Sheffield's loyalty to the British crown, what remains of this once grand structure can be viewed behind Castle Market even today.
Built in the region of the convergence of Don River and Sheaf River, history states that Thomas de Furnival obtained permission from then sovereign King Henry III to construct a castle in the town of Sheffield in the year 1270. In fact, the foundation stone that was laid at the start of construction is still visible today via a door in Castle Market where a staircase leads to the sole protrusion of the foundation stone. Thomas de Furnival did not survive long after the completion of the castle and was subsequently buried in the structure with an engraved tombstone that read I Lord Furnival; I built this castle-hall; and under this wall; within this tomb was my burial.
Made almost entirely of stone, experts believe that the castle stretched from Don River to Dixon Lane and from the Sheaf River to Waingate occupying a total ground area of nearly 17,000 square meters. It is also said that a 2461-acre parkland was also part of the castle property which in turn extended up to Handsworth in the east and to Gleadless in the south. A great majority of the castles remains still lie beneath Castle Market and is a Grade II listed site open to the public during the day. One of the castles gate towers was also discovered by archaeologists who now believe Sheffield Castle to have also been one of the most expansive castles in medieval England.
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