Birch Memorial Clock Tower
| Birch Memorial Clock Tower | |
|---|---|
Menara Jam Peringatan Birch | |
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | clock tower |
| Location | Ipoh, Kinta, Perak, Malaysia |
| Coordinates | 4°35′48.6″N 101°04′34.0″E / 4.596833°N 101.076111°E |
| Opened | 1909 |
The Birch Memorial Clock Tower (Malay: Menara Jam Peringatan Birch) is a clock tower in Ipoh, Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia.[1][2]
History
The clock tower was constructed to commemorate James W. W. Birch, the first British Resident of the state of Perak and unveiled on 8 December 1909 at a cost of $25,000.[3]
Architecture
The clock tower is located in a square and originally held a bronze, portrait bust of J. W. W. Birch in a niche, since removed. Four panels illustrate the growth of civilization designed by Messrs. Doulton and Co. of London. It has a mother bell and four smaller bells which used to strike the chimes supplied by Messrs. Gillet and Johnson, Croydon. Above the clock are four statues at each corner representing the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.[1][4]
The growth of civilization
There are four panels each one of the depicting the exponents of the different stages of civilization:[5]
Panel A (North)
The Stone Age:
The Iron Age:
- A man and a woman
The Early Eastern Peoples :
- A Nubian with gold and ivory, A Chaldean Astrologer, A Woman making pottery, An Egyptian, An Assyrian, A Persian.
Panel B (West)
- Moses, David, A Phoenician, A woman representing the Aegean civilization.
The Far East:
- A woman representing Greek Art, Alexander the Great, Plato, Augustus.
Panel C (South)
The Byzantine Empire:
- Muhammad (removed on 17 July 1958 because Islam prohibits visual depictions of the Prophet Mohammed).[1][6][7]
The Age of Chivalry:
- A Crusader.
The Age of Faith:
- Saint Clare of Assisi
- Saint Thomas Aquinas
The Renaissance:
The Reformation:
The Elizabethan Age:
Panel D (East)
Modern Science, Art and Social Services: Isaac Newton, William Harvey, James Watt, An unnamed Embroiderer, Beethoven, Robert Stephenson, Louis Daguerre, Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, Thomas Alva Edison, Joseph Lister.
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Birch Memorial Clock Tower, Ipoh". perak.info. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
- ^ "www.mbi.gov.my/en/web/guest/menara-peringatan-birch;jsessionid=660967965CC38F830F4AEF84DDC13447". Archived from the original on 2015-11-22.
- ^ Najib, Farhan (21 June 2021). "Iconic Ipoh Birch Memorial Clock Tower still going strong after 112 years". The Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Birch Memorial. SIR JOHN ANDERSON WELCOMED AT IPOH. Description of the Clock Tower". The Straits Budget: 5. 9 December 1909.
- ^ "J W W Birch Memorial Clock Tower And First Times Of Malaya Building, Ipoh" (PDF).
- ^ "Birch Memorial Clock Tower". Lonelyplanet.com.
- ^ "Workman obliterates painting of prophet". The Straits Times. 17 July 1958. Retrieved 21 September 2024.