The Old Bear started life as one of a number of village "Ale Houses" dispensing home made beer brewed on the premises. Ale houses were usually run by a widow and her children to supplement the family's meagre income. The ale would be sold to locals in jugs and a variety of containers to be consumed off the premises.

Originally the Old Bear was a row of four Weaver's cottages, probably built in the 17th century when the local trade was at its peak. Its origins can be determined from the large windows in the upstairs, a common feature of weaver's cottages, which needed a good degree of natural light, for the weaver to work on his large wooden framed hand loom. Later parts of the building were used as farm cottages and outbuildings.

A property on Staverton called "The Bear Ale House" was put up for sale by the Manor in 1795 and this was the present building. Home brewing gradually disappeared when commercial breweries were established in the late 18th & early 19th Centuries and most village Ale Houses were supplied by these breweries.