The first Sheffield Castle was a wooden motte and bailey type, built for William de Lovetot in the early twelfth century. The first castle was destroyed during the Second Barons' War in 1266, along with the rest of the town, and was replaced by a larger stone castle in 1270.

By the 16th century, the Earl of Shrewsbury had built the alternative residence of Sheffield Manor. The castle was badly damaged in the English Civil War and largely demolished in 1648.

An excavation led by Leslie Armstrong in 1927, prior to the construction of the Brightside and Carbrook Co-operative Society store, uncovered the base of one of the gateway bastion towers, as well as part of the gateway itself. These remains of the castle are preserved under the city's Castle Market: they are Grade II listed and are occasionally open for viewing.

More recent excavations in 1999 and 2001 by ARCUS, Sheffield University's archaeological research and consultancy unit, revealed the castle to have been much larger than previously was thought: among the largest mediaeval castles in England.

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