*At 100m tall, Old Joe is the world’s tallest freestanding clock tower.
*It’s fondly named after the University of Birmingham’s first Chancellor Joseph Chamberlain.
*Chamberlain was instrumental in raising the funds for the clock tower, as well as its design, basing its aesthetic on the Torree del Mangia campanile in Siena.
*The clock tower is the location for many University celebrations throughout the year, most notably our graduation celebrations.
*It is famously believed to have been the inspiration for the tower of Orthanc, the black tower of Isengard, in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
*It is also believed that Old Joe was the inspiration for the clock tower in Pixar’s Monsters University. Though this is not confirmed, the tower in the film does bear an undeniable likeness!
*In 1989 Brian G.W.Manning discovered Asteroid 10515 Old Joe, naming it in the clock tower’s honour.
*During World War II revolutionary radar inventors working at the University used the tower in their tests.
*The clock tower is home to nesting Peregrine falcons, who can be regularly be heard and spotted around Chancellor’s Court.
*The tower's clock faces also change colour on special dates in the calendar such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This act also helps celebrate the important research that goes on at the University.
.........10 facts about Old Joe.
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