Theakston Brewery company acquired and closed down the Lightfoot Brewery, also in Masham. Theakston's expanded into Cumbria in 1974 buying the Carlisle State Management Brewery. The brewery had been owned and operated by the government since 1916. However, the site was a financial drain on Theakston's and led to the company being taken over in 1984 by Blackburn based brewer, Matthew Brown plc. Matthew Brown was itself taken over by Scottish & Newcastle in 1987. Paul Theakston (Managing Director since 1968) left Theakston's in 1988, and in 1992 established the Black Sheep Brewery in the old Lightfoot Brewery premises - located adjacent
Kimberley Brewery which has caused rage in the town as it means a lot to the citizens. The site is currently being developed into housing, the distribution center (circa 1980s), that is located to the rear of the courtyard has been demolished along with a red brick loading bay. the houses will be moved into in 2018. The grain tanks to the side of the brewery have also been taken down and all concrete surfaces or roads to the rear of the site have been demolished. The black bridge as seen on the second photo down will remain along with the tower,