Jane Clouson
Encyclopedia
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.
It was also alleged that the accused was seen running from the lane, and that the murder weapon found at the scene – a hammer – had been sold to him by a local shopkeeper some days earlier, that his trousers were covered in blood and mud, and that there were seven witnesses who swore to having seen Jane and Edmund together that evening. Following a ruling by the judge that all statements made by Jane before her death were hearsay and therefore inadmissible as evidence, the jury acquitted Pook, believing his story that he could not have been in Kidbrook Lane that night and feeling that there still remained a “reasonable doubt”. Public unrest followed. It was widely felt at the time that social class
was what helped Pook get off.
For many years afterwards the ghost
of Jane Clouson was allegedly seen in Kidbrook Lane, including several reported sightings by patrolling policemen. Appearing in a white dress, her face was said to be running with blood. Her cries for help were also repeatedly heard together with the last groans of her life as she lay dying and people avoided Kidbrook Lane after dark until finally the lane was built upon and Jane disappeared.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
victim who was given a memorial at Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries
Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries
Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries were opened within one month of each other in 1858 and are sited on adjacent plots of previously open land. The two component parts are characteristic examples of the first wave of Victorian public cemeteries and are now part of the Brockley Conservation Area.The...
, erected by public subscription following the contentious trial and acquittal of Edmund Walter Pook
Edmund Walter Pook
Edmund Walter Pook was born at Walworth, Surrey in 1851, the son of Ebenezer Whitcher Pook and Mary Pook, formerly Burch. He was employed in his father's printing works at Greenwich, London. In May 1871 he was accused of murdering Jane Maria Clouson, a former maid in his parents' home...
, a printer from Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, 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.
It was also alleged that the accused was seen running from the lane, and that the murder weapon found at the scene – a hammer – had been sold to him by a local shopkeeper some days earlier, that his trousers were covered in blood and mud, and that there were seven witnesses who swore to having seen Jane and Edmund together that evening. Following a ruling by the judge that all statements made by Jane before her death were hearsay and therefore inadmissible as evidence, the jury acquitted Pook, believing his story that he could not have been in Kidbrook Lane that night and feeling that there still remained a “reasonable doubt”. Public unrest followed. It was widely felt at the time that social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
was what helped Pook get off.
For many years afterwards the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
of Jane Clouson was allegedly seen in Kidbrook Lane, including several reported sightings by patrolling policemen. Appearing in a white dress, her face was said to be running with blood. Her cries for help were also repeatedly heard together with the last groans of her life as she lay dying and people avoided Kidbrook Lane after dark until finally the lane was built upon and Jane disappeared.