Tallest clock tower in the UK: Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower

The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, known as Old Joe, stands at 99.6 metres (326 feet) tall in the Edgbaston district of Birmingham. Built between 1907 and 1909, this architectural beauty was designed by Aston Webb and Ingress Bell, and forms part of the initial phase of the University of Birmingham’s campus.

The tower's most defining characteristic is its height, but there is a mystery surrounding its exact height, with the university listing it variously as 110 metres (361 feet), 99 metres (325 feet), and 100 metres (328 feet). In a lecture in 1945, Mr C.G. Burton, the University’s secretary, revealed that the tower stands ‘329 feet [100 metres] high.'

The tower was built under the patronage of Joseph Chamberlain, the University’s first Chancellor, and was originally named the Poynting Tower, after one of the University’s earliest professors, John Henry Poynting. However, it was eventually rechristened in honour of Chamberlain.

The tower is often said to be modelled on the Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy, but the architectural influences seem to have been more far-reaching, as the original designs were significantly revised due to Chamberlain’s admiration for the Italian city’s landmarks.

The tower has been used for radar experiments and was dethroned as the tallest structure in Birmingham in 1965, when a new structure, the BT Tower, was built. However, Old Joe remains the tallest clock tower in the United Kingdom.

In 1989, an asteroid was named 10515 Old Joe in honour of this colossal structure that has become synonymous with the University of Birmingham. There is also a superstition that if students walk through the tower’s archway when it chimes, they will fail their degree, adding another layer of intrigue to the already enigmatic landmark.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons