Laxey of the Isle of Man, was built in 1854 to pump water from the Laxey mine shafts. Now a tourist attraction, it remains the largest working waterwheel in the world. Designed by Robert Casement, it is in diameter and wide. It revolves at about 3 rpm. The mines employed over 600 miners at their peak, producing lead, copper, silver and zinc, until they closed in 1929. The Wheel was owned by Edwin Kneale from 1939 to 1965; he saved it from being dismantled and ran it as a tourist attraction, before passing it on to the Manx nation, with the
Laxey as 1,705. It is the fourth largest village on the island. Historically, Laxey was in the parish of Lonan within the sheading of Garff. Until 2016, Laxey was a village district with its own commissioners. From 1 May 2016, it merged with the parishes of Lonan and Maughold to form the new parish district of Garff, within which it is a ward. Laxey is also part of the Keys constituency of Garff, whose representation increased in 2016 from one to two members. Laxey Wheel, also known as Lady Isabella after the wife of The Hon. Charles Hope, then Lieutenant Governor