Snaefell Wheel
| The Snaefell Wheel | |
|
Isle of Man | |
|---|---|
 The Snaefell Wheel, Laxey | |
| Type: | Water wheel |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SC43328464 |
| Location: | 54°14’0"N, 4°24’19"W |
| History | |
| Built 1865 | |
| For: | Snaefell Mining Company |
| Water wheel | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Restored |
| Owned by: | The Trevithick Society |
The Snaefell Wheel (also known as Lady Evelyn) is a waterwheel in Laxey on the Isle of Man. The wheel stands in the washing floors in Laxey Glen Gardens, approximately 750 yards south of the larger and more famous Laxey Wheel.
The wheel was unveiled with the name Lady Evelyn to mark the extensive work of Evelyn Jones in her support of the Laxey Mines Research Team. This echoes the name 'Lady Isabella' which is the official name given to the Laxey Wheel.
History
The wheel was commissioned by the Snaefell Mining Company in 1865, built by Messrs Leigh and Gilbert Howell of the Hawarden iron works in Flintshire. It was one of two identical 50-foot diameter wheels to be produced by the company.
By 1910, the wheel had come to the end of its working life at the Snaefell Mining Company and was disassembled to be sent to Bodmin in Cornwall. By the 1950s the wheel had fallen into disuse, and in 1971 the Cornish Wheel Preservation Society had acquired it and dismantled it for preservation. The society later merged with the Trevithick Society, who are the current owners of the wheel.
In 1976, the Llywernog Silver-Lead Mine in Cardiganshire took the wheel on loan from the Society though they never reconstructed it.
In 2003, an effort was started to restore the wheel to its home in Laxey and on 20 August 2006, the wheel had its official reopening ceremony and began turning for the first time in decades.
To mark the occasion of the official opening, and in similarity to its big sister, a piece of music "Snaefell Wheel March" was specially written by Paul Dunderdale for the occasion and performed for the first time by Onchan Silver Band at the opening ceremony, with suitable fanfare.
See also
Outside links
- Snaefell Wheel: The Great Laxey Mine Railway