Jane Clouson

Who was Jane Clouson?

Jane Maria Clouson was a murder victim who was given a memorial at Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, erected by public subscription following the contentious trial and acquittal of Edmund Walter Pook, a printer from Greenwich, who had been accused of her murder. The monument was paid for by public money and stands alone amongst the trees - a praying child sits on top of a pillar.

Below the figure is an inscription detailing the horrific events surrounding her brutal murder on April 25, 1871: "A motherless girl who was murdered in Kidbrooke Lane, Eltham aged 17 in 1871. Her last words were, "Oh, let me die".

Before she died she allegedly named Edmund Pook as her assailant. The bloodstained hammer was found lying nearby and it was this clue that led the Police to arrest 20 year-old Edmund Pook, the son of Jane’s employer. It was claimed that Edmund Pook and Jane Clouson had been having an affair lasting several months with the result that she had become pregnant; Edmund would not marry Jane because his brother had already angered his father by marrying beneath his station and Edmund had no intention of doing the same.