With its marble headstone and lead engravings the grave of Minna Elise Bailey looks just like any other at Croydon Cemetery.

However, a closer inspection reveals the tragic and intriguing story behind the young woman's death.

The 18-year-old pauper was found with her newborn baby starved to death inside a shed in Anerley Park Gardens in 1898.

She was found sitting in a chair, emaciated, while her lifeless baby which had been born just 48 hours earlier lay in a basket on a shelf.

Local history records show that Minna believed to be from a family of paupers and described as having a weak intellect' had been missing from her home in Victoria Road, South Norwood, three weeks before her death.

Yet her story has baffled staff at Croydon Cemetery because although the young mother died apparently penniless, her grave is marked with an expensive headstone.

The question over who provided the headstone, made of high-quality Italian Carrera marble and engraved with long-lasting lead writing, to this day remains a mystery.

Stella Garratt, bereavement officer at Croydon Cemetery, said: "She supposedly came from a family of paupers and clearly didn't have enough money to live, so who paid for her headstone? One theory is that it could have been provided by the person who found her body.

"It wasn't unusual for paupers to be found dead like that in those days. The area around Old Town and Surrey Street was very dilapidated and, for want of a better word, a bit of a hovel.

"It was quite common for babies not to survive in those conditions too.

"Croydon Cemetery opened in 1897 and crematoriums didn't take place until 1936 so everyone before that time was buried, including paupers."

Many paupers who worked at the old Queen's Road workhouse are buried in unmarked graves at Croydon Cemetery because there was no money to give them a proper headstone, which makes Minna Elise Bailey's all the more unusual.

She also shares her grave with an Earnest George Bailey, who could have been her brother.

The intriguing story behind pauper Minna Elise Bailey's grave is just one which is revealed in a heritage tour of Croydon Cemetery on June 17 as well as an open day on June 3.

Another history tour will take place at the Queen's Road cemetery on May 12 at 2pm and May 27 at 7pm.

The free tours, organised by Croydon Council, take around two hours and are suitable for the disabled.

For further information call Croydon Cemetery on 020 8684 3877.