Laxey Mine ton, and this would be used to glaze lower end earthenware. During the height of prosperity of the Great Laxey Mine, the Laxey Wheel was erected. The wheel was named the Lady Isabella, after the wife of Sir Charles Hope, who at the time was the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. During its working life the wheel was capable of pumping 250 gallons of water a minute from a depth of 200 fathoms. By the beginning of the 20th Century the yield from the mine had begun to decline dramatically. During the first six months of 1900 the
SS Ellan Vannin (1883) Bay, "Ellan Vannin" steamed through them as she made passage to Whitehaven and returned in the evening, the completion of her voyage being heralded by the ships sheltering in the bay sounding their whistles. "Ellan Vannin" became looked upon as a "mascot" of the Steam Packet fleet, and known by Manx sailors as the "Li'l Daisy." On 3 December 1909, "Ellan Vannin" left her home port of Ramsey at 01:13hrs, under the command of her Master, 37 year old Captain James Teare, who had some 18 years of experience working his way through the company to the position of Master.