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 surviving original working waterwheel in the world. Designed by Robert Casement - the wheel has a 72-foot-6-inch - 22.1 m diameter, is 6 feet - 1.8 m - wide and revolves at approximately three revolutions per minute. The wheel 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 that time.
Read moreShow less