Big Brum

The clock tower above the Museum & Art Gallery

Big Brum is the local name for the clock tower on the Council House, Birmingham, England. The clock tower is sufficiently important in the public consciousness of Birmingham people that it has a name. Brum is the local term for the town, the people and the dialect. The name refers to the clock and tower, not only the bell. The bell rings with Westminster Chimes similar to Big Ben in London.

The clock tower (1885) is part of the first extension to the original Council House of 1879 and stands above the Museum & Art Gallery. The clock tower, Museum & Art Gallery and Council House were designed by architect Yeoville Thomason and form a single block. The name alludes to the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster which houses the bell Big Ben. The clock was donated by A. Follett Osler, a local pioneer in the measurement of meteorological and chronological data.[1]

References

  1. ↑ The Birmingham and Midland Institute 1854-1954, Rachel E Waterhouse, 1954

External links

Coordinates: 52°28′49″N 1°54′14″W / 52.4803°N 1.9040°W / 52.4803; -1.9040

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