Richard Edes, an Elizabethan poet, playwright and clergyman, in his Latin poem Iter Boreale, records the proprietor of The Bear Inn in 1583 as a Matthew Harrison, who had a pet bear named Furze (considered to be possibly a reference to the previous landlord, Furres).
ɹˈɪtʃɚd ˈɛdz, ɐn ᵻlˈɪzɐbˌɛθən pˈoʊɪt, plˈeɪɹaɪt ænd klˈɜːdʒɪmən, ɪn hɪz lˈætɪn pˈoʊᵻm ˈaɪɾɚ bˈoːɹiːl, ɹˈɛkɚdz ðə pɹəpɹˈaɪəɾɚɹ ʌvðə bˈɛɹ ˈɪn ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd fˈaɪvhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi θɹˈiː æz ɐ mˈæθjuː hˈæɹɪsən, hˌuː hæd ɐ pˈɛt bˈɛɹ nˈeɪmd fˈɜːz kənsˈɪdɚd təbi pˈɑːsᵻbli ɐ ɹˈɛfɹəns tə ðə pɹˈiːviəs lˈændlɔːɹd, fˈɜːz.