I should have gone to Birmingham Uni

One local legend has it if an undergraduate student walks under the tower as the bell chimes, he is sure to fail.
Check out the time on the clockface...

Check it out, at 110m this is the tallest freestanding clock tower in the world. It was named after Joseph Chamberlain, a pretty famous politician and businessman, who took the seat of Chancellor at the uni. So famous the Midland Metro named a tram after him ZOMG!

Incidentally, I also went to the college named after him in Highgate, tru story BRO.

The clock tower has a simplistic design, using basic fundamentals to provide the structural support needed.

The base was constructed of approximately 60 cubic metres of solid concrete, sunk nearly 10m below ground to provide the foundational support. This base rests directly on the bed rock below ground for added stability!

There are a few bells located at the top, the largest of which clocks in at 6100kg. One would assume numerous reinforced steel beams would be required to handle the force of such a heavy load and the massive moments from the bell as it chimes.

To confirm, I tried to climb up it to check out and a get a few snapshots of the 6 tonne bell but the receptionist informed me all public access was closed due to several students hurling themselves from the top balcony to grisly deaths.

Probably victims of the aforementioned curse.

The four courses of brick at the balcony allow it to better resist the horizontal wind forces, a common feature across pre-19th century European clock towers. This particular tower is based on one in Siena, supposedly after Chamberlain's admiration of said building.

Fun Fact: this was the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's towers in his work The Lord of the Rings.



Until next time,

H.A.