Jam Jar Cinema

The earliest cinemas to offer admission by a Jam Jar were not cinemas, but rather workingmen's clubs in predominantly heavily industrialized towns and cities. From our research the earliest noted case we have found is from 1929 in what is now North Shields, Tyneside. But why a Jam Jar; were they passionate about recycling? No, not really! At the ti... me when you purchased Jam or Marmalade a deposit was paid on the glass jar and returned when you brought the jar back to the shop. At the time, when little money was available to be spent at the cinema, especially in 'working class' areas the man of the house brought in the main salary. He passed on the house keep money to the mum who couldn't be seen to pass that on to one of the children. Workingmen's clubs realised this and decided to accept a Jam Jar - I mean who would miss a Jam Jar? This tradition of accepting a jam jar for admission slowly spread from Tyneside to other heavy industry cities including: Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Glasgow, where it was known as "J'eely Jar cinema. Eventually some mainstream cinemas and 'news theatres' offered the same deal on a Saturday morning. By the early 1970's this convention was dying: partly because of changing social attitudes and the rise of the modern women's movement and partly because glass became far cheaper and the deposits stopped. Skipping forward to the present day, just like the inter war years, as a country, we find ourselves tightening our belts and weathering an uncertain economic future with little money available to be spent at the cinema. Some cinemas across the UK have done the odd one off Jam Jar showing but until Jam Jar Cinema was formed this historic Tyneside tradition had all but ended. We are a community interest company and we believe that film allows people to explore the world around them and brings together communities. Just as it was in its heyday Jam Jar Cinema will let any one under 18 or over 60 in to see selected screenings for free if they bring along a Jam Jar.Read More