History of Poynton Jemmers

Jemmers were formed in 1975 to revive and perform the traditional women`s morris dances of Cheshire and Lancashire. Many of our dances were collected from members of teams in existence in the early part of the 20th century. Over the years we have evolved our own style by adapting and expanding these dances, and by creating new ones in the same tradition.

Why Jemmers? The people of the former mining village of Poynton were once so poor that they had to live on bread and jam – hence the name `Jammers`, the local pronunciation of which is allegedly `Jemmers`.