Edward Augustus Freeman

Explorer Tom Birmingham University's clock tower, Old Joe, rises about 100 metres above Chancellor's Court and makes being late to a lecture feel like a public announcement. It is the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, named for the university's first chancellor, and its bells have kept students honest since the early twentieth century. Tom says the clock once ran late; the clock denies everything. Construction began in 1905 and the tower has stood on the Edgbaston campus since 1908. Its design drew on the Torre del Mangia in Siena, giving Birmingham a freestanding landmark visible well beyond the university grounds. Joseph Chamberlain helped raise the money for it and shaped the vision of the new campus. The tower also works as a water tower, a useful fact for anyone who thinks handsome buildings have no practical job. The university opens its outdoor campus to the public, so you can walk into Chancellor's Court and see Old Joe from the ground. The inside of the tower is not generally a visitor route; enjoy its brickwork, clock faces and chimes from outside. Peregrine falcons have nested high above, taking the best view without attending a single seminar. Students joke that walking under Old Joe as it chimes dooms an exam result. Tom tested that theory by avoiding exams altogether. Use the university's campus visitor map and respect working teaching areas. Stand back far enough to see the whole tower against the redbrick court, then move closer and listen for the bells. It is a fine piece of city architecture you can enjoy without needing a degree.