The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower (grid reference SP048835) is a campanile located in Chancellor's court at the University of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. It is the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world, although its actual height is the subject of some confusion. The university lists it as both 110 metres (361 ft) and 325 feet (99 m) tall, whereas other sources state that it is 100 metres (328 ft) tall.
The tower was built to commemorate Joseph Chamberlain, the first Chancellor of the University, although one of the original suggested names for the clock tower was the 'Poynting Tower', after one of the earliest professors at the University, Professor John Henry Poynting. The nicknames Old Joe, Big Joe, Mark Bough and simply The Clock Tower are used by the student population and local residents. A prominent landmark in Birmingham, the grade II listed tower can be seen for miles around the campus, and has become synonymous with the University itself. There is a superstition, not taken seriously, amongst students that if they stand under the tower when it strikes they will fail their exams.
Read more about Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower: History, Description
Famous quotes containing the words chamberlain, memorial, clock and/or tower:
“The day of small nations has long passed away. The day of Empires has come.”
—Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914)
“I hope there will be no effort to put up a shaft or any monument of that sort in memory of me or of the other women who have given themselves to our work. The best kind of a memorial would be a school where girls could be taught everything useful that would help them to earn an honorable livelihood; where they could learn to do anything they were capable of, just as boys can. I would like to have lived to see such a school as that in every great city of the United States.”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
“Up the reputable walks of old established trees
They stalk, children of the nouveaux riches; chimes
Of the tall Clock Tower drench their heads in blessing:
“I don’t wanna play at your house;
I don’t like you any more.”
My house stands opposite, on the other hill,”
—William Dewitt Snodgrass (b. 1926)
“All over France, in every city there stand cathedrals like this one, triumphant monuments of the past. They tower over the homes of our people like mighty guardians, keeping alive the invincible faith of the Christian. Every arch, every column, every statue is a carved leaf out of our history, a book in stone, glorifying the spirit of France.”
—Sonya Levien (1895–1960)