Masham ( ) is a small
market town and
civil parish in the
Harrogate district of
North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,235. Situated in
Wensleydale on the western bank of the
River Ure, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Mæssa's Ham", the homestead belonging to Mæssa. The Romans had a presence here, but the first permanent settlers were the
Angles. Around 900 AD the
Vikings invaded the region, burning and laying waste to the church and causing great suffering in Masham. They also introduced sheep farming, something for which the town is well known today.