Set upon the hills near the village Laxey rests a giant. Lady Isabella named after former Lieutenant Governor Hope's wife is also know as the Laxey Wheel. Built in 1854 by Robert Casement, a Laxey native and talented engineer. The Laxey Wheel remains the largest working waterwheel in the world. The wheel has a diameter of 72ft and a circumference of 227ft. It was used to pump 250 gallons of water a minute from the Laxey mines some 200 yards away and 1500ft below ground. The mines employed over 600 miners at its peak producing lead, copper, silver and zinc till the mines closed in 1929. In 1965 the government bought the wheel and site. Restoration occurred and in 1989 it was put under the control of Manx National Heritage. Tourists had long come to see the wheel, even when the mines were still in use and they continue to come to this day.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Cool.....
Set upon the hills near the village Laxey rests a giant. Lady Isabella named after former Lieutenant Governor Hope's wife is also know as the Laxey Wheel. Built in 1854 by Robert Casement, a Laxey native and talented engineer. The Laxey Wheel remains the largest working waterwheel in the world. The wheel has a diameter of 72ft and a circumference of 227ft. It was used to pump 250 gallons of water a minute from the Laxey mines some 200 yards away and 1500ft below ground. The mines employed over 600 miners at its peak producing lead, copper, silver and zinc till the mines closed in 1929. In 1965 the government bought the wheel and site. Restoration occurred and in 1989 it was put under the control of Manx National Heritage. Tourists had long come to see the wheel, even when the mines were still in use and they continue to come to this day.
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