Bear close by river (6)
I believe the answer is:
endure
'bear' is the definition.
(I know that bear can be written as endure)
'close by river' is the wordplay.
'close' becomes 'end' (I've seen this in another clue).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'river' becomes 'Ure' (river in Yorkshire).
'end'+'ure'='ENDURE'
(Other definitions for endure that I've seen before include "Last or suffer patiently" , "Last or bear with courage" , "Undergo a tough time" , "Suffer, tolerate" , "Bear, stick it out" .)