Sheffield Old Town Hall: 17 extraordinary new photos give glimpse inside crumbling courtrooms and cells

These extraordinary new photos give a rare glimpse inside one of Sheffield's most beautiful buildings which has been left to rot.

Sheffield Old Town Hall, on the corner of Castle Street and Waingate, was built in 1808 and later housed the city's courts.

But it has stood empty opposite the old Castle Market site since 1997, and the once opulent landmark is today in a sorry state.

These new photos shared by the urban explorer behind the popular Lost Places & Forgotten Faces Facebook page show just how badly the building has deteriorated over the past 27 years.

They show the old cells and courtrooms, as well as the view over Castlegate from the rooftop, beyond the clock tower.

In one photo, a large section of flooring has fallen away, with a door now opening into thin air. Other pictures show bin bags piled up, graffiti scrawled on the walls and the old courtroom benches covered with crumbling plasterwork.

There is also evidence of rough sleepers using the building, sparking concerns for their safety.

The man who took the photos wishes to remain anonymous, but he told The Star he was shocked by how much further the building had deteriorated between his last visit and when he returned in February this year.

"I first visited the Old Town Hall in December 2020. During that visit, the building was in a very poor state," he said.

"To say it's gotten worse since then is an understatement. The building is slowly crumbling down, floors are collapsing and the bottom floors are slowly flooding. "Parts of the building are being occupied by the homeless community. This was very sad to see as the building is extremely unsafe, and freezing inside. I hope these people get the help they need to where they don't have to stay inside this unstable, derelict building."

Despite the Old Town Hall's shocking state, he described it as an 'amazing place', calling it Sheffield's 'most iconic' abandoned building.

The Grade II-listed building was once named by the Victorian Society as one of the UK's most at-risk buildings.

In 2004, the building was bought by G1 London Properties for £650,000 and sold in 2019 to developer Efe Omu, whose plans to convert it into apartments, a hotel and market were approved.

When financial constraints scuppered that planned restoration, the property was snapped up in 2021 by Gary Ata, who is believed to be preparing plans to turn it into apartments.