Laxey Wheel and Helen Barley both entitled "The Laxey Wheel". Laxey Wheel The Laxey Wheel (also known as Lady Isabella) is built into the hillside above the village of Laxey in the Isle of Man. It is the largest working waterwheel in the world. Designed by Robert Casement, the wheel has a diameter, is wide and revolves at approximately three revolutions per minute. It was built in 1854 to pump water from the Glen Mooar part of the Great Laxey Mines industrial complex. It was named "Lady Isabella" after the wife of Lieutenant Governor Charles Hope, who was the island's governor at
Manx language is frequently spelled "Manks" in historical sources, particularly those written by natives of the island; the word means "Mannish", and originates from the Old Norse "Mannisk". The name of the island, Man, is frequently spelled "Mann". It is sometimes accompanied by a footnote explaining that it is a two-syllable word, with the stress on the first syllable, "MAN-en". The island is named after the Irish god Manannán mac Lir, thus "Ellan Vannin" (Irish "Oileán Mhannanáin") 'Mannanán's Island'. Manx is a Goidelic language, closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic. On the whole it is partially mutually intelligible with these, and