8 July: The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower (aka Old Joe)

On 8 July 1836 Joseph Chamberlain, English politician and social reformer was born. His first job was as an apprentice at his father's shoemaking company and then at his uncle's Birmingham screw factory. His political career began when he was elected mayor of Birmingham, where he made improvements to local utilities and services, including by forcibly buying two rival gas companies and the water company. He became an MP at 39 and was President of the Board of Trade in Gladstone's Second Government. He was never Prime Minister but was a well-known statesman of his day. His memorials include the Chamberlain Memorial in Chamberlain Square, in central Birmingham, the Chamberlain Clock in the city's Jewellery Quarter and the clock tower on the campus of the University of Birmingham, of which he was one of the founders and first chancellor. The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower is interesting in itself - here are 10 facts about it.

1. It is the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world, although there are differing opinions as to exactly how tall it is. According to the university, it's either 110 metres (361 ft) or 99 metres (325 ft) tall and other sources say 100 metres or 328 ft. While 100m is a nice round number, metres weren't used in Britain in those days so 325 ft is the roundest number. It has ten floors.
2. It was the tallest building in Birmingham until 1969, when the BT Tower was built. The Chamberlain Tower is, however, still one of the 50 tallest buildings in the UK.
3. Other vital statistics: The base is solid concrete, 50 ft (15.2 m) square by 10 ft (3.0 m) thick. The foundations reach 328 ft (100 m) below ground.
4. The clock was built by Joyce of Whitchurch. The clock face is 5.25 m (17.2 ft) across. The hands are made from sheet copper; the minute hand is 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in) long, the hour hand is 2 ft (61 cm) across, the pendulum is 15 ft (4.6 m) long. It has bells weighing a total of 20 tonnes.
5. It took eight years to build, between 1900 and 1908. It was built from the inside out, from Red Accrington brick.
6. It was modelled on the Torre del Mangia in Sienna. Originally it was designed to look like St Mark's Campanile in Venice, but Chamberlain, an admirer of the Sienna tower, had the design amended.
7. Students at the university refer to the tower as "Old Joe". There is a superstition that any student who walks under the tower's archway as the clock strikes will fail their degree.
8. It wasn't merely intended to be an architectural landmark but something which could be used in research by the Physics Department. In 1940, Sir Mark Oliphant used the tower for radar experiments.
9. The tower has an asteroid named after it - the Asteroid 10515 Old Joe, discovered in 1989.
10. The tower, and its glowing clock face may have inspired JRR Tolkien. The Two Towers are said to have been inspired by Edgbaston Waterworks and Perrot's Folly - but the Eye of Sauron is said to have been inspired by Old Joe's glowing clock.

More details about my books. Follow this link if you like Superheroes, Psychics and/or quirky short stories. 

I've listed the themes each novel touches on here for easy reference.

Like my author page on Facebook for news on new books and blog posts.

Follow me on Twitter and Pinterest

Check out my Writing blog