Laxey
LAXEY - a name derived from the Scandinavian word Laxa meaning river salmon - is best known for the Laxey Wheel, or to give it its correct title, the Lady Isabella, of which more later. The original village was centred on the harbour and on either side of the Laxey River but when mining came to the area in the 18th Century housing spread to the present top level and slopes on both sides of the Lower Glen. As there was plenty of water available to drive machinery the 18th century also saw the establishment of spinning and weaving mills, and a flourmill which exists, and runs as a commercial concern, to this day.
Laxey Waterwheel was built in 1854 to drain water from the mines and named
the Lady Isabella by Lieutenant Governor Hope in honour of his wife. The
wheel has a circumference of 228 feet (69.4m), a diameter of 72 feet (22m),
and a breadth of 6 feet (1.8m). There are 168 buckets each containing 24
gallons (109 litres) and was capable of raising 250 gallons (1,136 litres)
of water every minute from a depth of 1,500 feet (457m). After the mine
closed the wheel fell into disrepair until rescued in 1937 by Edwin Kneale,
a Laxey joiner. In 1966 the Manx Government acquired the wheel and it is
now administered by Manx National Heritage.
The Laxey mines were extensive and at their peak the Great Laxey Mining Company employed over 600 miners. Their production of zinc ore made Laxey mines the largest in the British Isles. Lead, silver and copper were also extracted. A small section of the mines is now open to the public and provides a fascinating insight into the hard life endured by miners here in the 18th century.
The Manx Electric Railway runs through Laxey village on its way to Ramsey, and it is from there that passengers board another electric train to start their journey to the top of Snaefell - Scandinavian for Snow Mountain - with more detail on another page. Visitors to Laxey, arriving either by car or by electric railway, will find plenty to interest them. On the higher level Laxey Glen Gardens are most attractive. Taking either roads or paths and following the river will bring one down to the small and uniquely picturesque harbour built for shipping ore extracted from the mines to England and Wales. Since those times a promenade has been built, popular for a quiet walk and watching the various comings and goings among the sailing fraternity based on the harbour.
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