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
Black Eagle Brewery businesses, events spaces, offices, workshops and two weekly fashion markets. The building is likely to undergo significant changes in the next few years, as part of the Tower Hamlets Council City Fringe Area Action Plan. The site was the location for the second Summer of Sonic event, a convention for Sonic the Hedgehog fans, which took place on 29 August 2009. Black Eagle Brewery The Black Eagle Brewery is the former brewing plant of Truman's Brewery located around Brick Lane in the Spitalfields area, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Truman's subsequently became Truman, Hanbury and Buxton. By 1853,