River opened up next to Sheffield Castle site

A section of the River Sheaf hidden underground for more than 100 years has been uncovered as part of work on the site of Sheffield's former castle.

The stretch of river was covered over in 1917 as part of work to create the since demolished Castle Market.

The uncovering of the Sheaf is part of a project to create a new public park on the Castlegate site and an "exciting" achievement since work began a year ago.

Simon Ogden, chair of the Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust said: "This is the first step to bring the Sheaf back into Sheffield."

The Trust has been campaigning for several years for the river to be fully uncovered, restored and made visible and accessible.

The work will also allow the "re-naturalisation" of the river, including a new rock ramp fish pass over the 5ft (1.5m) high Castle Orchard Weir, designed to restore the biodiversity of the river.

"It's really exciting to see how the river could emerge from this process," said Mr Ogden.

"We are starting to see the river bed and it is starting to make its own meandering path, almost like a natural river."

Since starting work in February 2024, a team from Wessex Archaeology have also uncovered many parts of Sheffield Castle, which was demolished in1648.

Martin Gorman, chair of the Friends of Sheffield Castle, described it as an "incredible year".

"We've uncovered sections of the moat, the western and eastern tower of the gatehouse and part of the drawbridge.

"The surprise elements have been amazing. We also found a stone lined castle well from the 12th Century that doesn't appear on maps or any written records."

One of the most recent discoveries was a chamber constructed in the 1930s and upgraded in the 1950s when Castle Market was built.

"We knew this was here. We've pumped the water out. It gives us another glimpse into the castle remains," Mr Gorman added.

Demand for tours of the site has been "overwhelming" as a result of the new discoveries, Mr Gorman said, but the work associated with the additional finds has also seen costs rise.

The project was originally set to cost £15.7m, with Levelling Up funding being used to foot the bill.

However, the scheme is now set to come in at £20.8m, with additional funding coming from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA)

In a report, the SYMCA said: "Costs have increased mainly due to inflation, the specialist nature of archaeological works which are significantly higher than originally envisaged and additional works identified.

"Given that the project is located on a brownfield site of archaeological importance, it is unavoidable that it will carry significant risk to costs and delivery."

According to Mr Gorman, the next phase of the project will see a "conservation management" plan created and a "routeway through the site".

"There's lot's more to uncover, records show 70% of the castle foundations are still covered, but the funding is a regeneration budget not an excavation budget.

"We as the friends are hoping to raise more funding for further excavation work" he said

Sheffield City Council said the work is expected to be completed by Spring 2026.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.