Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower

Common card · No. 460660

The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, or colloquially Old Joe, is a clock tower and campanile located in Chancellor's court at the University of Birmingham, in the suburb of Edgbaston. It is the tallest clock tower in the UK, although its actual height is the subject of some confusion. The university lists it variously as 110 metres (361 ft), 99 metres (325 ft), and 100 metres (328 ft) tall, the last of which is supported by other sources. In a lecture in 1945, Mr C. G. Burton, secretary of the university, stated that "the tower stands 329 ft [100 m] high, the clock dials measure 17 ft [5.2 m] in diameter, the length of the clock hands are 10 and 6 ft [3.0 and 1.8 m], and the bell weighs 5 long tons [5.1 tonnes]". The tower was built to commemorate Joseph Chamberlain, the first Chancellor of the University (with the commemoration being carved into the stone at the tower's base), although one of the original suggested names for the clock tower was the "Poynting Tower", after one...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Dunpharlain, CC BY-SA 4.0