Tell us your memories of Tyneside Cinema

One of the most important cinemas in Newcastle is Tyneside Cinema. It opened as the ‘Bijou News-Reel Cinema’ on 1st February 1937 and was opened by the then Lord Mayor Alderman Grantham J.P. One of three news theatres that opened in the city that year, the initial proposal was for it to be built close to the Central Station, but the plan fell through when the North Eastern Railway could not be persuaded.

The News Theatre, as it was known generally, stands at the North Eastern edge of a site occupied as early as 1267 by Franciscans, or Grey Friars. The next building to stand on the site was the ‘Newe House’, a mansion used by General Leven during the English Civil War as his headquarters. It was in the Newe House that Charles I was held for 10 months until he was handed over to the Parliamentarians in 1647.

The present building in which the Tyneside Cinema stands is in fact called the Newe House to this very day, this name can be seen above the Pilgrim Street entrance to the building. The building was designed by George Bell of Dixon and Bell Ltd, and built by Thomas Clements and Sons Ltd.

Over the years thousands of people have passed through the doors, and we would like to hear your memories of time at the Tyneside. Send us your photographs or memoirs, or make a video and upload it to YouTube - we'd love to hear from you.