The Largest Working Wheel

It is a large waterwheel built in the village of Laxey in the Isle of Man, a tiny island in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Designed by Robert Casement, it has a 72-foot-6-inch (22.1 m) diameter, is 6 feet (1.83 m) wide and revolves at approximately three revolutions per minute.It was built in 1854 to pump water from the mineshafts and named "Lady Isabella" after the wife of Lieutenant Governor Charles Hope who was the island's governor at that time.

The Laxey Wheel is the largest working waterwheel in the world. The wheel was used to pump water from the Glen Mooar part of the ‘Great Laxey Mines’ industrial complex.The wheel is water-powered since the Isle of Man does not have a supply of coal but does have an abundance of water.

Water from the surrounding area, including the local river, is collected in a cistern which is above the level of the top of the wheel. A closed pipe connects the cistern to the top of the wheel; thus the water flows up the tower without problem. The water falls from the pipe into the buckets (formed from wooden slats on the circumference) and makes the wheel rotate in what is described as the 'reverse' direction. The crank has a throw of 4 feet (1.22 m) and connects to a counterweight and to a very long rod. This rod runs along the rod viaduct to the pumping shaft where the 8 feet (2.44 m) stroke is converted by T-rockers into a pumping action.The impressive structure of Wheel found immediate popularity and has remained one of the Island’s most dramatic tourist attractions for over 150 years.