14
BCD Special Report on
Historic Churches
19
th annual edition
of striking ‘blue’ windows in which the
background glass is in shades of blue. These
include windows at St Winefride, Holywell
(1931),
St Michael, Blundellsands (1933) and the
Annunciation window at the Anglican Shrine
of Our Lady, Walsingham (1933). Her many
saints windows can be seen throughout the
north west, but particularly successful groups
of saintly figures are to be seen at St Stephen,
Prenton (1930–32 and 1934) and All Saints,
Caldy (1933), as well as eight lights in the
porch of St Werburgh in Chester (1937).
Trena Cox's output was steady throughout
her career: generally between one and three
windows per year. In 1932 and 1933 she
produced four and five windows respectively,
although one of the windows in 1933 was
St Aidan: part of a 1934 two-light window of St Aidan and St Oswald at St Stephen’s, Prenton, Wirral, showing
typical black on white background decoration which acts as a foil for areas of rich colour. Note too the ornate
haloes Cox was then using.
a very small one in the Hermit’s Chapel at
Llandrillo-yn-Rhos. However, most of Cox’s
major commissions were in the 1930s. These
include a four-light transept window at St Paul,
Tranmere (1931, unfortunately destroyed in
the second world war) and 18 heraldic lights
at St Michael, Blundellsands (1932–38), as
well as the windows already mentioned at
St James, Latchford, St Werburgh, Chester
and St Matthew, Stretton. Possibly the only
later windows to rival these in scale are
the west windows at All Saints, Bubwith
(1951)
and St Stephen, Moulton (1953).
Through the 1920s and 1930s Cox lived in
a succession of rented rooms in Chester. Her
business address continued to be The Studio,
Victoria Road, next to or within the Williams,
Gamon & Co works. There is a hiatus of
information during the period of the second
world war, but by May 1945 Cox had moved
into a house at 96 Watergate Street. This
address is also given as her business address
and, in 1965, the parochial church council
minutes of St Aidan, Billinge, refer to her
address as ‘The Studio’, implying that, at least
by then, her workshop was also in the house.
This suggests a break from Williams, Gamon
&
Co at about the time of the second world
war. It may be no coincidence that Geoffrey
Gamon, her previous partner and co-director
at Williams, Gamon & Co, died in 1947, aged
70.
His leaving the business may have cut
her ties to that company. However, one can
only speculate as to whether Cox set up her
independent business on her own, or whether
she may have acquired some of the materials
and equipment from Williams, Gamon & Co.
After the second world war, and
especially in the early 1950s, her style began
to change. Perhaps most obvious was the
change in 1953 to the use of larger rectangular
background quarries with more tinted glass,
as opposed to patterned or shaded surfaces.
However, there were other more subtle
changes as well. Her figures become less
naturalistic and more stylised, especially in
the folds of the clothing. Detailed shading
also became less common on the faces.
Trena Cox continued to design and
make windows until 1972, by which time
she was 77 years old. She remained at her
Watergate Street address until her death on
11
February 1980. She left a wonderful legacy
of stained glass, mainly in the old counties of
Cheshire and Lancashire, but with a few as
far afield as Yorkshire, Sussex and Norfolk.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Tony Benyon and
Peter Cormack for their help and advice
in researching Trena Cox over the last
few years. I also wish to thank the Dean
and Chapter of Chester Cathedral and the
incumbents and wardens at the various
churches illustrated for permission to
include photographs of their windows.
Peter Jones
is a stained glass enthusiast with
a special interest in the Arts & Crafts movement.
His interest in Trena Cox stems from finding
her windows in Cheshire churches, only to
discover that very little was known about her.
Notes
1 1911
Census
2
Laird School of Art registers, Williamson
Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead,
Wirral Museums Service
3
Liverpool Autumn Exhibition catalogues,
1916–1930,
Liverpool Central Library
4
Information provided by the Royal
Academy Library
5
CW Whall, Stained Glass Work, 1905,
Morris & Juliet Venables, Bristol, 1999
6
The Collegian, Vol 38, No 1, 1925
7
Letter to Canon Child concerning the
window at Stratton, Gloucestershire,
Gloucestershire Archives reference
GDR/F1/1/1927/26
