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
Sultan Idris Shah II MosqueThe state mosque of Perak in Ipoh; work began in 1966 and was finished in 1968, 2 minutes walk
Ipoh Town HallAn elegant white neoclassical building opposite Ipoh railway station, designed b2 minutes 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 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.