
These eerie images give a chilling glimpse into a once-bustling city market dating back eight decades that now lies like a ghost town.

The historic building, which dates back to 1928, stands in silence with farewell messages from traders scrawled on the walls where they worked.

Castle Market in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, closed its doors last November - almost a year ago - as the new Moor Market opened in the city.

It is now frozen in time with goods from fake hair to packets of seasoning, shrivelled bananas and Christmas decorations on the shelves and floor.

Clocks stand still and the market’s decommissioned lift slumps at the end of its ropes, with the service corridor in darkness.

Scroll down for video

Shut: Castle Market in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, closed its doors last November - almost a year ago

Shopfronts: The historic building, which dates back to 1928, stands in silence with farewell messages from traders scrawled on the walls

Variety: Goods from fake hair to packets of seasoning, shrivelled bananas and Christmas decorations on the shelves and floor.

Only a handful of people, apart from staff working with contractors Kier Asset Management, have been inside since the doors closed

Photographers and artists have visited to record the building’s notable features, including its wooden banisters and historic tiles

Charities have taken some items from Sheffield's Castle Market, such as mannequins, for their stores

Signs proclaim ‘we have moved’ and the Castle Chippy interior is covered with names

Gary Wright, project manager for Kier, revealed that many unusual items had been left behind in the market

Only a handful of people, apart from staff working with contractors Kier Asset Management, have been inside since the doors closed.

Photographers and artists have visited to record the building’s notable features, including its wooden banisters and historic tiles.

Charities have also taken some items, such as mannequins, for their stores - but a red Santa sledge was too big to remove and sits near the entrance.

A bizarre request to hold a zombie event there was turned down for health and safety reasons.

Gary Wright, project manager for Kier, revealed that many unusual items had been left behind in the market.

He said: ‘When we took control of the site there were boxes of Christmas decorations, greeting cards, a vast amount of keys and even fruit and vegetables left behind.

A bizarre request to hold a zombie event there was turned down for health and safety reasons

Inside the meat and fish area the stalls still stand, with some peeled apart so the rusty fittings can be seen

It may look like the market has not changed much since it closed but there has been much preparation work going on behind the scenes

One of the first jobs was a basic clean-up, as some perishable stock had been left behind

Survey after survey - from topographical to bats, ecological of the culvert that runs near the site, and even exploration for unexploded bombs - has been undertaken

South Yorkshire Archaeological Service helped with evaluations and a photographer recorded the building in detail for the Sheffield archives

The building is also riddled with asbestos, and one of the biggest jobs was to assess that

‘If you go into the old meat and fish market, you can still smell meat and fish.

If you go into the old meat and fish market, you can still smell meat and fish Gary Wright, Kier project manager

‘People who have visited the market since its closure, if they knew the market before, can’t believe it is like time has stood still, because large parts of the inside remain unchanged.’

Inside the meat and fish area the stalls still stand, some peeled apart so the rusty fittings can be seen, others as though they were still in business.

Signs proclaim ‘we have moved’ and the Castle Chippy interior is covered with names.

The old T Pickles stall thanks its loyal customers with a banner message, at Stuart’s Fruit and Veg there are still the highlighter pens used to mark up prices.

In a staff room there are discarded trolleys, and a poster reads, ‘All traders’ equipment should be removed in seven days’.

A contractor is to be chosen to carry out the demolition after the tender deadline at the end of the month

Trial pits and holes have been dug to test the thickness of the concrete - vital for demolition purposes

It is expected pre-demolition work on Castle Market in Sheffield will begin in December

The demolition work - expected to take 11 months - will begin with asbestos removal

A 'soft strip' will pull out everything that shoppers will remember from the market

The structure will be demolished down to the concrete, so a careful excavation of the Sheffield Castle ruins underneath can be done

A major consideration for contractors is the ruins of the former castle as well as shops nearby which are staying open

The market's retaining wall will be kept as it holds back the hill on which the castle was built

The site is very complex - it is not as straightforward as demolishing a simple two-storey square building Gary Wright, Kier project manager

It may look like the market has not changed much since it closed but there has been much preparation work going on behind the scenes.

One of the first jobs was a basic clean-up, as some perishable stock had been left behind, and the paperwork to gain vacant possession.

Survey after survey - from topographical to bats, ecological of the culvert that runs near the site, and even exploration for unexploded bombs – has been undertaken.

South Yorkshire Archaeological Service helped with evaluations and a photographer recorded the building in detail for the Sheffield archives.

The building is also riddled with asbestos, and one of the biggest jobs was to assess that.

A red Santa sledge was too big to remove and is near the entrance

You can still smell meat and fish if you walk around in the old meat and fish market

The demolition work at Castle Market in Sheffield will see everything recycled that can be

Contractors said that when they took control of the site there were boxes of Christmas decorations and greeting cards to be found

This Maneki-neko figurine is clearly in need of repair, having lost its upright paw

Contractors found a 'vast amount of keys and even fruit and vegetables left behind'

In a staff room there are discarded trolleys, and a poster reads, 'All traders’ equipment should be removed in seven days'

The demolition contractor will have to determine how the building will be brought down safely

The eerie images give a chilling glimpse into the city market dating back almost a century that now lies like a ghost town

Hair brushes can be seen inside a bin liner among other items that have been discarded at Castle Market in Sheffield

One shop clearly had a closing down sale before the Castle Market building was emptied

Trial pits and holes have been dug to test the thickness of the concrete - vital for demolition purposes.

A contractor is to be chosen to carry out the demolition after the tender deadline at the end of the month, and it is expected pre-demolition work will begin in December.

‘When people hear the words ‘start on site’ they think a bulldozer will trundle straight in,’ said Mr Wright.

‘What it actually means in the case of Castle Market is that we can hand over to the demolition contractor, at which point they will start planning for the demolition, including how the building will be brought down safely.’

Castle Market is located in the centre of the city, close to the Sheffield Supertram stop of Fitzalan Square - Ponds Forge

The castle on top of which the site now stands was destroyed in 1648 after being seized by parliamentary forces

The building was first constructed in the inter-war period before additions were made later on in the Sixties and Seventies

Castle News was one of many stalls at the market before it was closed almost a year ago

The fish and vegetable section of Castle Market in Sheffield is the oldest part of the building

Castle Market in Sheffield is pictured more than 40 years ago on November 22, 1971

A Castle Market sign in October 1968 (left) and John Farrell Smith selling exotic fish on his stall (right)

The shirt department of Harrington's almost two decades ago on June 17, 1987

A general view of Castle Market in Sheffield on February 24, 1986

The demolition work - expected to take 11 months - will begin with asbestos removal, then a ‘soft strip’ to pull out everything that shoppers will remember from the market. Everything that can be recycled will be.

Then the super structure will be demolished down to the concrete, so a careful excavation of the Sheffield Castle ruins underneath can be completed in future.

Mr Wright said a major consideration were the ruins of the former castle as well as shops nearby which are staying open, and there may be some road closures during the work.

The market’s retaining wall will also be kept as it holds back the hill on which the castle was built.