VIDEO: Artwork reveals stories of Sheffield Castle and market site

(l-r) Steve Mettam, Martin Gorman, Cora Glasser, Rachael Dodd, Simon Ogden, Cllr Leigh Bramall and David Clarke infront of the artwork around the site of Sheffield Castle. Picture: Andrew Roe

The first panels of a huge piece of art reflecting Sheffield's rich heritage have gone up around the old castle site.

Scenes from Castle Market overlap drawings of turrets and ramparts on a piece that, once complete, will be longer than 11 double decker buses parked end-to-end.

The work was commissioned by Sheffield Council and created by arts collective Glassball to cover the hoardings surround the old market site. The aim is to tell the story of one of the city’s most historic sites while work to unearth the castle ruins is carried out.

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Artist Cora Glasser next to the artwork around the site of Sheffield Castle. Picture: Andrew Roe

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Artists Cora Glasser and David Ball worked with historical groups, including the Friends of Sheffield Castle, and children from Manor Lodge Primary School on designs for the artwork.

They also had help from Picture Sheffield, Museums Sheffield, ArcHeritage, the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Newspapers Archives on the project.

Artwork around the site of Sheffield Castle. Picture: Andrew Roe

Cora said stories and anecdotes from many people were featured in the piece.

“The artwork is layered reflecting the physical nature of the site,” she said. “As the layers of heritage were being removed we were exploring the many aspects of the site as revealed through conversations with those who had a personal connection to this area.

“The artwork contains historical facts about the site, alongside personal recollections -placing the stories of Mary Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned at the castle, on the same level as a story about working on the markets in the 1950s.

“We wanted to give the same level of importance on these events, as a way to interact with the distant and more recent past, enabling viewers to gain an understanding of the complex nature of this site through statements that they would be able connect to personally.”

The project has been managed by Yorkshire Artspace on behalf of Sheffield Council and the work reflects the future of the site as well as its rich medieval and more recent history.

Rachael Dodd, programme manager at Yorkshire Artspace, said: “This has been a truly fascinating project to work on.”