Black Sheep Brewery Theakston left in 1988, and after a hiatus of more than a year purchased the North Yorkshire Malt Roasting Company, originally part of the former Lightfoot's brewery site, from an animal feed company, in order to start a new brewery in Masham. Theakston wanted to use the Lightfoot name to bring back an old brewing tradition, but Scottish and Newcastle had already trademarked the name. The association of Masham with sheep led Theakston to come up with the name "Sheep Brewery" which rapidly became "Black Sheep" at his wife's suggestion. The first and original Black Sheep Best Bitter was sold
Timothy Taylor Brewery "New Inn" in Cononley, the "Royal Oak" in Keighley, the "Royal Oak" in Ripon, the "Town Hall Tavern" in central Leeds, the "White Horse" in Thornton, the "White Swan" in Fence and the "Woolly Sheep" in Skipton. All of these pubs are run by tenants, except for the "Lord Rodney" in Keighley and the "Woolly Sheep" in Skipton, which are run by Timothy Taylor's itself. In 2015, Timothy Taylor's bought "The Devonshire Hotel" in Grassington and it underwent a complete refurbishment, reopening in December 2015. Timothy Taylor Brewery Timothy Taylor's is a family-owned regional brewery founded in 1858 by Timothy