Trena Cox

St Etheldreda, a work by Trena Cox in St Stephen, Prenton, Birkenhead

Trena Mary Cox (1895–1980) was an English stained glass artist. She was born Emma Trina Cox on 3 March 1895, in the Lower Bebington Urban District (i.e. not Bebbington), on the Wirral Peninsula and grew up around Birkenhead.^[1] She trained at the Laird School of Art. In 1924 she moved to Chester and set up her studio in Victoria Road Chester, Cheshire, either adjacent to, or within, the Kaleyard works of Williams, Gamon & Co., with whom she remained associated until the Second World War.^{[note 1]} In about 1945, Trena Cox moved to 96 Watergate Street, Chester,^{[note 2]} which remained her home and, at least later, her studio, until she retired in 1972 (at the age of 77) and died, on 11 February 1980^[1][2] (not in 1977, as frequently quoted). Most of her works are in churches in the old counties of Cheshire and Lancashire.^[1] She was a fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters.^[3] The authors of the Buildings of England series comment that "her windows are usually small, her figures modest, often with small-scale detail in the quarries" (small pieces of square or diamond-shaped glass set diagonally).^[4]

Until the publication of Jones (2012),^[1] there was very little coherent information available about the life of Trena Cox and errors in some earlier references, concerning, for example, the year of her death, have unfortunately been perpetuated by later authors.

Works

Building	Location	Date	Subject, notes and references
Chester College Chapel	Chester, Cheshire 53°11′56″N 2°53′48″W / 53.1989°N 2.8966°W	1923, 1933, 1962	A number of windows in the chapel and in its corridor.[5]
Cloister, Chester Cathedral	Chester, Cheshire 53°11′31″N 2°53′26″W / 53.1919°N 2.8905°W	1925–27	Eight figures in the southwest corner of the cloister.[6]
Slype, Chester Cathedral	Chester, Cheshire 53°11′31″N 2°53′26″W / 53.1919°N 2.8905°W	1927	Saint Christopher.[7][8]
Church of St Mary and All Saints	Whalley, Lancashire 53°49′27″N 2°24′15″W / 53.8241°N 2.4041°W	1928	East window in the north chapel, depicting Saint George, Saint Nicholas, and King Arthur.[9][10]
Trevor Church	Trevor, Wrexham, Wales 52°58′20″N 3°06′23″W / 52.9723°N 3.1065°W	1930	Crucifixion.[11][12]
St Stephen's Church	Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside 53°22′09″N 3°02′29″W / 53.3691°N 3.0415°W	1932	Several small windows.[13][14]
St Michael's Church	Blundellsands, Merseyside 53°29′41″N 3°02′36″W / 53.4946°N 3.0433°W	1932; 1933	Annunciation; Saint Christopher.[15][16]
Church of the Resurrection and All Saints	Caldy, Wirral, Merseyside 53°21′30″N 3°09′51″W / 53.3584°N 3.1641°W	1933; 1946	Saint George, Saint Werburgh, Saint Bridget, and Saint Martin.[17][18]
St Michael's Church	Huyton, Merseyside 53°24′50″N 2°50′24″W / 53.4140°N 2.8400°W	1933	Simeon with Jesus; Mary sitting at Jesus' feet.[19][20]
St Bartholomew's Church	Thurstaston, Wirral. Merseyside 53°20′55″N 3°07′56″W / 53.3485°N 3.1321°W	1934; 1951	Two windows.[21]
St Werburgh's Church	Chester, Cheshire 53°11′28″N 2°52′57″W / 53.1911°N 2.8824°W	1936	A set of eight small windows in the narthex.[22][23]
Holy Trinity Church	Lower Beeding, West Sussex 51°02′00″N 0°15′40″W / 51.0332°N 0.2610°W	1936	Good Shepherd.[24][25][26]
St Michael's Church	Shotwick, Cheshire 53°14′20″N 2°59′42″W / 53.2388°N 2.9951°W	1938	Saint Michael.[27]
Chapel of St Mary de Castro, Chester Castle	Chester, Cheshire 53°11′07″N 2°53′30″W / 53.1854°N 2.8918°W	1939	A small version of the Mother and Child.[28][29]
St Matthew's Church	Stretton, Cheshire 53°20′25″N 2°34′18″W / 53.3404°N 2.5717°W	1939	West window.[30]
Holy Trinity Church	Bickerton, Cheshire 53°04′37″N 2°43′58″W / 53.0769°N 2.7327°W	c. 1940	[31]
Christ Church	Crowton, Cheshire 53°15′59″N 2°37′52″W / 53.2664°N 2.6312°W	1946	Mother and Child.[32]
St Oswald's Church	Bidston, Birkenhead, Merseyside 53°24′09″N 3°04′02″W / 53.4024°N 3.0671°W	1947	Epiphany.[33][34]
St Ambrose Church	Widnes, Cheshire 53°22′21″N 2°42′44″W / 53.3725°N 2.7123°W	1947	A window given by German prisoners of war, depicting Saint Boniface.[35]
St Matthew's Church	Buckley, Flintshire, Wales 53°10′28″N 3°04′21″W / 53.1745°N 3.0726°W	1948	Christ in Glory as a Child in the south wall of the south aisle.[36]
St Lawrence's Church	Stoak, Cheshire 53°15′12″N 2°51′55″W / 53.2534°N 2.8654°W	1948	Saint Christopher and Saint George moved here from Christ Church, Chester, in 1997.[37][38]
St James' Church	Leyland, Lancashire 53°41′24″N 2°43′57″W / 53.6900°N 2.7325°W	1949	Saint Michael; Saint George.[39][39][40][41]
St John the Evangelist's Church	Norley, Cheshire 53°14′59″N 2°39′28″W / 53.2496°N 2.6579°W	1949	The west window of the north aisle.[32][42]
Emmanuel Church	Buckley, Flintshire, Wales 53°10′04″N 3°05′18″W / 53.1678°N 3.0882°W	1950; 1962	Scenes from the birth and early life of Christ on the south wall.[43][44]
All Saints Church	Bubwith, East Yorkshire 53°49′01″N 0°55′14″W / 53.8170°N 0.9206°W	1951	Te Deum.[45]
Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham	Walsingham, Norfolk 52°53′41″N 0°52′33″E / 52.8947°N 0.8758°E	1955	Annunciation.[46]
St Aiden's Church	Wheatley Hills, Doncaster, South Yorkshire 53°32′11″N 1°05′56″W / 53.5364°N 1.0990°W	1957	Vision of St. John on Patmos.[47]
Shrewsbury Cathedral	Shrewsbury, Shropshire 52°42′19″N 2°45′14″W / 52.7053°N 2.7540°W	1960	A window with armorial items in the porch.[48]
All Saints' Church	Daresbury, Cheshire 53°20′26″N 2°37′52″W / 53.3406°N 2.6312°W	c. 1960	Two windows.[49]
St John the Baptist's Church	Chester, Cheshire 53°11′20″N 2°53′08″W / 53.1890°N 2.8856°W	1969	Aethelred and the Hind, in the narthex.[50][51]
St Mary Magdalen's Church	Tallern Green, Wrexham, Wales 52°59′31″N 2°49′38″W / 52.9920°N 2.8273°W	1970	An Angel Greets the Three Women at the Empty Tomb in the south wall of the nave.[52]
Wrexham Cathedral	Wrexham, Wales 53°02′50″N 2°59′56″W / 53.0473°N 2.9989°W	1970	Saint Michael and angels on the east wall of the south transept.[53]
The Priory and Parish Church of Saint Mary (Beddgelert)	Beddgelert, Gwynedd, Wales 53°00′40″N 4°06′06″W / 53.0111°N 4.1017°W	Undated	Virgin and Child and David on the north wall of the nave.[54]
St Peter's Church	Chester, Cheshire 53°11′25″N 2°53′30″W / 53.1904°N 2.8918°W	Undated	On the west side of the church.[55]
St Chad's Church	Farndon, Cheshire 53°05′02″N 2°52′39″W / 53.0840°N 2.8774°W	Undated	Three windows.[56]
St James' Church	Ince, Cheshire 53°16′53″N 2°49′36″W / 53.2813°N 2.8266°W	Undated	Saint Francis and Saint Werburgh.[57]
St Michael and All Angels Church	Little Leigh, Cheshire 53°16′44″N 2°34′42″W / 53.2790°N 2.5783°W	Undated	[58]
St Stephen's Church	Moulton, Cheshire 53°13′22″N 2°31′00″W / 53.2227°N 2.5168°W	Undated	Two west windows and two in the north aisle.[59]
Holy Trinity Church	Northwich, Cheshire 53°15′28″N 2°31′08″W / 53.2577°N 2.5188°W	Undated	Christmas scenes.[60]
St Trillo's Chapel	Rhos-on-Sea, Conwy, Wales 53°18′52″N 3°44′26″W / 53.3144°N 3.7406°W	Undated	Saint Elian in the south wall.[61]
Holy Cross Church	Woodchurch, Birkenhead, Merseyside 53°22′21″N 3°05′21″W / 53.3725°N 3.0892°W	Undated	A window in the north aisle.[62]

Notes

1. Cox's first known stained glass window is in the Chester College (now University) chapel and was installed in October 1924 (Minutes of the Joint Committee, Chester Training College, 15 October 1924). This window has Trena Cox's monogram on it, yet the window was contracted to Williams, Gamon & Co. (The Collegian, Vol 38, No 1, 1925).
2. Cox exhibited several times in the Walker Gallery Autumn Exhibitions in Liverpool. In the exhibition catalogue for the 1923 Autumn Exhibition, her home address is given as her parents' address in Birkenhead, as it also is for her 1924 exhibit at the Royal Academy in London. However, in the 1924 Walker Gallery Autumn Exhibition catalogue her address is given as being in Chester. Trena Cox moved to 96 Watergate Street at some time around the Second World War. During the years up to and including 1939, electoral registers confirm that she was living at other addresses in Chester. However, by the time of the first electoral register after the war, in May 1945, she had moved to 96 Watergate St. However, she apparently continued using the Victoria Road studio alongside or within the Williams, Gamon & Co. works during the war and until at least 1946, with evidence including, for example, the Kelly's Directory of Cheshire, 1939 (p. 94, p. 584), the Kelly's Chester Directory of 1940 (p. 112) and Chester Area telephone directories in January – February 1945 and March 1946. This suggests that she may not have used her new home as a studio immediately. By the time of the January 1947 telephone directory, however, the only telephone number for Trena Cox is at the Watergate Street address, suggesting a break from the Victoria Road studio.

References

Citations

1. Jones 2012, pp. 11–14.
2. GRO 1980, Jan–Mar, Chester, v.35, p.0290
3. Architects and Artists C, Sussex Parish Shurches, retrieved 9 December 2011
4. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 72.
5. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 277.
6. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 233.
7. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 234.
8. Saint Christopher, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
9. Hartwell & Pevsner 2009, p. 687.
10. King Arthur & St George, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
11. Crucifixion (1930) by Trena Cox, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
12. Detail of a Trena Cox stained glass window, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
13. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 158.
14. St Etheldreda, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
15. Annunciation, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
16. St Christopher, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
17. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 199.
18. SS George, Werburgh, Bridget & Martin, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
19. Simeon with Jesus, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
20. Mary sitting at Jesus' feet, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
21. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 637.
22. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 244.
23. St Christopher, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
24. The Good Shepherd, a stained glass window by Trena Cox, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
25. Detail of a Trena Cox stained glass window, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
26. A Nativity vignette, by Trena Cox, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
27. St Michael, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
28. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 247.
29. Mary & the baby Jesus, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
30. Pollard & Pevsner 2006, p. 629.
31. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 130.
32. Stained Glass Windows at Christ Church Crowton and St John's Norley, United Benefice of Norley, Crowton and Kingsley, retrieved 9 December 2011
33. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 152.
34. Adoration of the Magi, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
35. Pollard & Pevsner 2006, pp. 656–657.
36. Christ in Glory as a Child, University of Wales, retrieved 9 December 2011
37. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 591.
38. St Christopher & St George, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
39. Hartwell & Pevsner 2009, p. 422.
40. St Michael & St George, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
41. Tracery of a Trena Cox window, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
42. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 510.
43. Scenes from the Birth of Christ, University of Wales, retrieved 9 December 2011
44. Scenes from the Early Life of Christ, University of Wales, retrieved 9 December 2011
45. Te Deum window, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
46. Cobb, Fr Peter, Stained Glass in the Shrine Church, Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, retrieved 9 December 2011
47. The vision of St John, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
48. Newman & Pevsner 2006, p. 533.
49. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 325.
50. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 239.
51. King Ethelred & the White Hynde, Yahoo!, retrieved 9 December 2011
52. An Angel Greets the Three Women at the Empty Tomb, University of Wales, retrieved 9 December 2011
53. St Michael, University of Wales, retrieved 9 December 2011
54. Virgin and Child with St David, University of Wales, retrieved 9 December 2011
55. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 243.
56. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 359.
57. St. James the Great, Ince, Church of England, retrieved 9 December 2011
58. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 432.
59. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 490.
60. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 513.
61. St Elian, University of Wales, retrieved 9 December 2011
62. Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 684.

Sources

• Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
• Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
• Jones, Peter (2012), Trena Cox: Emergence of a stained glass artist, Historic Churches, 19, Cathedral Communications Limited, pp. 11–14, ISBN 978-190091562-5
• Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Shropshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-12083-4
• Pollard, Richard; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10910-5