In Wensleydale, on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Mæssa's Ham", the homestead belonging to Mæssa.[2]
History
Silver StreetSt Mary the Virgin church
The Romans had a presence here, but the first permanent settlers were the Angles. Around 900 AD the Vikings invaded, burning and laying waste to the church. They also introduced sheep farming, for which the town is still known.
The area of the ancient parish, except Burton-on-Yore, was known as Mashamshire from the 12th century or earlier.[6]
St Mary's Church was most likely founded in the seventh century and stood somewhere near the present town hall on what used to be known as Cockpit Hill. The graveyard yielded 36 burials in a recent excavation. The present church – while having some Anglo-Saxon stonework and the stump of an eighth-century prayer cross – is mainly Norman with fifteenth-century additions. Masham was given to York Minster in the medieval period but, as the archbishop did not wish to make the long journey north to oversee the town's affairs, the parish was designated a peculiar.
During the Middle Ages, Masham developed as a small town with milling, mining, cloth making and tanning industries.[7] The town received its first market charter in 1251. Masham's importance as a major sheep market is the reason for the large market place and its Georgian houses. The market originally thrived because of its nearness to Jervaulx and Fountains Abbeys, with their large flocks of sheep.
The naturalist Charles Hedley (1862–1926) was born in Masham, where his father, the Rev. Canon Thomas Hedley, was vicar.[9]
On 5 July 2014 the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the town.[10]
Governance
Masham is part of the electoral ward of Mashamshire. This ward stretches west to Colsterdale with a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 2,350.[11] Prior to local government reform in North Yorkshire in 2023, the town lay within the Borough of Harrogate.
Masham market days are Wednesday, Saturday and Bank Holiday Monday with a Farmers' Market every first Sunday of the month from April to September.[13] An annual Sheep Fair is held in September. The market place, the largest in the district,[14] is tightly bordered on its south and west sides by ranges of two- and three-storey buildings. To the south-east, lies St. Mary's Church with its large yard.
Although Masham is a relatively small town it has two working breweries, Black Sheep Brewery and Theakstons, situated only a few hundred yards from one another. The Black Sheep Brewery sponsors annual folk festivals. Previous performers have included Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers.[15] The town was also for a long time home to Lightfoot Brewery. This was bought by the Theakston family and closed in the 1920s. The Lightfoot brewery buildings are now used by Black Sheep.
The Masham Steam Engine & Fair Organ Rally is held annually,[16] organised by the Masham Town Hall Association; it began in 1965 to raise money for Masham Town Hall. The town holds an arts festival every two years.[17]
^Page, William, ed. (1914). "Parishes: Masham". A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
^Fairfax, Denis. "Hedley, Charles (1862–1926)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
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