Writer only second woman to gain Brum Blue Plaque
AN early pioneer of science fiction writing who was way ahead of her time is to become only the second woman ever to have a Blue Plaque dedicated to her in Birmingham.
Jane Webb Loudon is better known for writing the first gardening manuals and her marriage to John Claudius Loudon, the man who designed Birmingham’s Botanical gardens.
Jane, who died in 1858 at the age of 51, was born in Edgbaston and moved with her father to live in Kitwell House in what was then the open countryside of Bartley Green.
Kitwell House is now the site of Kitwell Primary School, in Wychbury Road, which is where the unveiling of the Blue Plaque took place.
Peter Leather, chairman of the Heritage Committee of Birmingham Civic Society, said: “It’s about time we had another woman commemorated by a Blue Plaque in Birmingham.
“The last was the pioneering gynaecologist and obstetrician Dame Hilda Lloyd in 1985, although another woman Victorian benefactress Louisa Anne Ryland is mentioned on a plaque in Cannon Hill Park, which she gave to the city.
“We hope this starts a trend of more women who have played a part in the city’s history being nominated for plaques.”
Pat Cooke, head teacher of Kitwell Primary, said: “Unveiling this plaque has given the children an opportunity to be involved in a local history project. They have enjoyed the research and I hope it will inspire them to find out more about Jane Webb Loudon and the area in which they live.”
Jane wrote the science fiction novel The Mummy: Or A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century in 1827, which included many accurate forecasts including women wearing trousers and even an internet prediction.
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