Ceramic panels
The stages of civilisation.
Kkchan46 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ammar aizat termizi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hudaradz — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cerevisae — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pooventhan Supramaniam — CC BY-SA 4.0
An elegant white clock tower in Ipoh's old town, raised in 1909 in memory of James Birch, the first British Resident of Perak, who was killed in 1875 at the start of the Perak War. It has become one of old Ipoh's landmarks. The tower stands on a raised platform reached by a wide white staircase, and around its base are four coloured ceramic panels made by Doulton of London, showing the stages of human civilisation through figures from history. Above the clock, four small statues at the corners stand for the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. A bronze bust of Birch once stood in a niche on its face; it has since been removed and the niche left empty. A visit is short and free, a few minutes for photographs and a look at the panels. It is a few steps from the State Mosque, the City Hall and Ipoh's historic railway station, so make it a stop on a walk around the old town.
The stages of civilisation.
A tower on a raised platform.
Near the station and mosque.
Jalan Dato Sagor, near the State Mosque and City Hall in old Ipoh
Ipoh Old Town and Concubine LaneIpoh's historic heart, a town built on tin wealth in the late nineteenth and ear1 minute walk
Ipoh Railway StationOne of the loveliest railway stations in Asia, called the Taj Mahal of Ipoh by l4 minutes walk
Han Chin Pet Soo (Hakka Tin Mining Museum)Malaysia's first museum of the Hakka tin miners, in their old clubhouse at the e4 minutes walk
Panglima Kinta MosqueOne of Ipoh's oldest and loveliest mosques, built in 1898 by Dato' Panglima Kint8 minutes walk
Darul Ridzuan MuseumA small museum in a handsome white mansion built in 1926 for a wealthy tin miner11 minutes walkJames Birch was the first British Resident of Perak, killed at Pasir Salak in 1875 after a dispute with local chiefs; his death began the Perak War.