The Rajabai Clock Tower is a 85-metre Venetian-Gothic clock tower at the University of Mumbai's Fort campus, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott (the British architect behind the St Pancras Hotel in London) and completed in 1878. The tower, modelled on Big Ben, was funded by stockbroker Premchand Roychand and named after his mother Rajabai, who was blind — the tower's chimes were designed so she could tell the time by ear from the family home on Malabar Hill.
The tower forms part of the University Library complex along with Mumbai's University Convocation Hall, and the ensemble — one of the finest Gothic Revival groups in Asia — is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Victorian and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai. The interior is not generally open to the public, but the exterior view from the Oval Maidan is one of the defining images of colonial Bombay.
Verified Facts
The tower is 85 metres tall, completed in 1878
It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott
It was funded by Premchand Roychand and named for his blind mother Rajabai
The ensemble is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Mumbai, India
