Gregson, Jean Elizabeth 1912 - 2007

Jean Elizabeth Gregson was born in Sale in 1912. Her father, C. H. Gregson, was a Produce Dealer. Her mother, Marjorie Armstrong, had success as an artist prior to her marriage, having trained at the Manchester School of Art and exhibited work at Kensington Art School. Marjorie and Jean together designed a stained glass window for the family house in Moss Lane, Sale depicting family members. Jean attended Sale High School for Girls and was awarded a number of certificates by the Royal Drawing Society for success in drawing examinations. The quality of her work resulted in a scholarship from Cheshire County Council which funded her attendance at the Manchester School of Art from 1929-1933. She studied Cotton Print and followed the Bachelor of Education course. Her fifth year of study was funded by a Lady Whitworth Scholarship. Jean continued on to the Diploma course but did not complete her formal studies, instead taking employment as a textile and lamp shade designer at a firm in Salford while following a reduced number of courses at the Manchester School of Art from 1934-1936. Her uncle William Ernest Gregson also worked at the same firm in Salford. He later became Chairman of Rylands & Sons in Manchester. Jean briefly worked in Liverpool, where she met her husband, and in 1937 moved to Acton and Ealing before being evacuated during the Second World War to the chantry cottages in Thaxted church grounds. The family moved to Leeds in 1947 and then to Petersfield in 1966. Jean died in Petersfield on 2 December 2007. She had 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.