22/05/2026
"Smells and sounds" - you've been sharing your multisensory memories of the old Castleford market with us and Castleford Civic Society!
Lots of people remember the sights, sounds and smells in the market hall, which they said was a hive of activity:
“I remember the busy hustle and bustle of the old market, and the smells and sounds.”
“Castleford Market was always so busy! I can walk round it in my head 40 years on.”
“There were guys outside on a Monday who would do all the showmanship – actively shouting what they had and how much they could sell it for. One sold crockery and he would throw stuff to his partner, and then every now and again deliberately drop some so it would make a crash, and everybody would crowd round to see what was going on.”
“You couldn’t move in Castleford Market on a Friday. They were really happy days. Friday and Saturday we finished at 6pm but we often couldn’t shut for the number of customers we still had. Everybody bought a joint for the weekend. You could smell it on a Sunday coming back from the pub – everybody was cooking their Sunday dinner.”
Many people recalled the scents coming from the much-loved herbalist stall:
“I remember the lovely smell from the herbalist. My mum would go in and chat to Miss Ellen and then we’d go to the wool shop and chat there. That’s why I love smells and knitting!”
“Loved going in the herbalist for the smell. I never knew what all the medications were for but it was just magical.”
“Miss Ellen the herbalist was the first vegetarian I knew!”
“I regularly went in on behalf of someone I knew who lived in Hemsworth to pick up dandelion roots for him. I thought it was very exotic.”
“I bought dried chamomile flowers to lighten my hair.”
Photos: Castleford Market Hall, 1980s and inside the herbalists, 1980s (courtesy of the Pontefract & Castleford Express).
