TheWHITE BEARMasham
A unique and traditional Yorkshire inn with fourteen sumptuous bedrooms in the heart of Masham, at the foot of the Dales. Our bar and food menus celebrate local beer and produce, and our bedrooms are thoughtfully designed with utmost comfort in mind. Our fires are always lit when it’s chilly and our sunny terrace is the perfect spot for warmer days.
The team looks forward to welcoming you!
Traditional Style Meets Contemporary & Luxurious Comfort
A traditional inn style with roaring fires, a welcoming atmosphere, delicious food, and luxurious bedrooms.
The White Bear is unique. Built in the converted buildings of an ancient brewery acquired by Theakston’s in 1919, the White Bear offers the finest in traditional country hospitality.
A cosy bar, brilliant, freshly made food, famed cask ales, fourteen sumptuous bedrooms with five-star facilities, and function and meeting rooms for those special occasions. Our friendly staff will ensure you have the best of times when staying or visiting, where nothing is too much trouble.
What’s On?
Summer may be winding down, but the music and dancing are still in full swing!
Five-Star Bedrooms with a Warm Welcome
All our bedrooms are beautifully decorated, deeply comfortable and luxurious. Each is individually designed and spacious. Constructed from a former brewery, all the rooms have their individual feel and finish.
Our bathrooms are of the highest standard with state-of-the-art fittings, and we have a few rooms available for (well behaved!) dogs.
Charming Pub and Restaurant
Our long-standing team of chefs specialises in preparing fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced dishes, including traditional favourites and delightful specials.
Provenance is key, and we showcase the finest produce as close to Masham as possible. We serve food in all areas of the inn — the dining room, lounge and public bars, and the covered terrace in front of the pub.
A Unique Space for Events & Meetings
The White Bear is the perfect place for meetings, whether for business or pleasure. We have the Theakston Brewery Board Room, seating up to ten around the circular board table, and the Lightfoot Room, named after the original brewery, with a seating capacity of fifty and ground-floor access.
Each of our two meeting rooms has a smart TV for presentations, and the Lightfoot Room has a separate prep kitchen and disabled facilities.
What to Expect at The White Bear
Heated Terrace
Enjoy our covered, heated terrace surrounded by flowers and plants, at the front of the early Victorian building.
A lovely place to eat, drink, and enjoy the south-facing aspect towards the Old Bottle Store and the ancient brewery buildings. Our covered and heated terrace is very popular, mainly in the summer months, but available all year round.
Cosy Bar
Our popular public bar is warm and friendly, with both locals and guests. Dogs are also welcome.
Rub shoulders with the locals, admire the original white bear behind the bar, and walls covered in fascinating memorabilia. Read about how the original White Bear was actually bombed during the Second World War.
Lounge & Dining
The lounge bar and dining room are equally warm and inviting, and benefit from two open log fires.
Here you can eat and drink in what is a very popular part of the White Bear. It leads into our two dining rooms, one a snug, comfortably fitting up to eight people and available for private functions. Our main dining room is light and airy and benefits from an atmospheric log burning fire and antique furniture. We cater for larger private parties or events in the Lightfoot Room in the Old Bottle Store.
Theakston Ales
We are closely connected to the world-famous Theakston brewery.
Many, if not most, of the range of Theakston’s fabulous cask and craft ales are always available, a must for real ale enthusiasts and aficionados. You might even catch a member of the family enjoying a sampling session.
“The White Bear Is No More!”
The original White Bear stood a stone’s throw away, until a stray Luftwaffe bomber destroyed it in April 1941. The licensee survived, carried two cases of beer to an empty brewery worker’s cottage and kept trading — and that cottage is the public bar you drink in today.
Stayed in the Finghall Room which was lovely and spacious, comfortable bed and all the luxuries you would expect from a great hotel. We dined in the restaurant and the food was lovely, the service was very good and quick. Breakfast the next morning was lovely, fresh and hot — all in all, we will be back, thank you.
We have eaten many wonderful meals here before, but this was our first time staying the night. We absolutely loved it! Beautiful, very spacious room, that was impeccably clean. Extremely comfortable bed, and very well appointed amenities. The service was great, and we will definitely stay again when in the area.
Our third stay at the White Bear, and probably the best yet! Lovely rooms, so comfortable and clean and welcoming. Gorgeous food at every meal, from breakfast to dinner. Friendly staff, and lots of charm and atmosphere. Hope to be back before too long.
At the Centre of the Universe, in the Middle of Nowhere
Masham is located just 11 miles from Junction 50 of the A1(M), high up above the banks of the River Ure in the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales and some of the most beautiful countryside in all of the UK. An historic town with medieval roots and a classic early Georgian square, Masham was for almost 200 years the wealthiest prebend in all of England — the income of which came into the possession of Henry VIII, who used it to fund the construction of Trinity College, Cambridge, the current owners of the living of Masham.
Masham holds an almost unique ecclesiastical status, being a ‘Peculier’ rather than an ‘Ordinary’, a status granted to the parish in medieval times, permitting the vicar and a court of ‘four and twenty’ to sit in judgement over fellow residents in civil law matters rather than the Diocesan centre at York Minster.
There are wonderful walks around Masham and wonderful places to visit, including Fountains Abbey, a world heritage site, ancient Bolton Castle in Wensley, and Ripon Cathedral. For the younger at heart, Lightwater Valley is ten minutes away, and the Forbidden Corner, a folly delight, just twenty minutes in the opposite direction. Harrogate, with its famous Valley Gardens and Bettys Tea Rooms, is under an hour away.