All Our Stories
The Making of a Mashamshire Family Business project injected £9,600 into the area and has explored why this independent little market town has stood up so well. With a unique history, landscape and local blessings like coal, lead, clear fresh water, sheep and geology, it had a good start but its real strength lies in its people and a local solicitors’ office yielded a forgotten room that summed up the character of this feisty Yorkshire town. The project found clues to the town’s heritage and its many characters, bound up in dusty bundles and in abandoned files. The community came together to unlock its secrets and teachers are being trained to make sure visitors and Masham’s children will understand why its lineage makes its small businesses, brewers and community so special.
“Masham is a unique place and our families form a big part of that. We still have many thriving small businesses and we are proud to share our heritage with visitors as we learn more about it ourselves. Whether that be the big brewing stories of Lightfoot, Theakston and the Black Sheep of the family or the smaller stories like the Sturdy family – cobbling since the 1800s. They all add up to make Masham 'peculier' in every way.” Jan Reed, Making of Mashamshire Project Leader.