Masham 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. 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, organised by the
Black Sheep Brewery of our success". Nevertheless, a growing share of its sales is in on-cask form. All bottled beers brewed by the Black Sheep Brewery are suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. According to the website, "...Riggwelter takes its name from the local Yorkshire Dales dialect – when a sheep is on its back and can’t get up without help, local dialect says it is riggwelted. This dialect word comes from the old Viking words: ‘rigg’(rygg) meaning back and ‘velte’ to overturn (the words and their meaning are still largely the same in the modern North Germanic languages). Riggwelter is also popular