In summer 2026, Manx National Heritage will open the new Laxey Wheel Visitor Welcome Hub, providing enhanced arrival facilities, improved visitor services and a dedicated retail space for those exploring the Island’s most iconic landmark.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the care of the Great Laxey Wheel, conservation work was undertaken in 2025 on the wheel’s T-Rocker mechanism. Additional counterweights were installed to improve balance and ensure a smoother, more consistent turning motion. This work builds upon previous conservation of both the T-Rocker and the remarkable 32-arch rod duct, which stretches 169 metres through the scenic Glen Mooar Valley.
These latest improvements follow an award-winning conservation programme that saw Lady Isabella undergo extensive research, repair and restoration. During the project, deteriorated timbers were carefully replaced, ironwork repaired, and the wheel, housing and viewing platform repainted. The programme represented the most significant conservation effort undertaken at the site since its major restoration nearly four decades ago.
The project provided a rare opportunity to study and conserve one of the Isle of Man’s most important heritage sites and the largest working water wheel in the world. Major conservation works of this scale are exceptionally rare, taking place only once or twice in a generation. This major conservation project marked a significant milestone in the history of both the Great Laxey Wheel and the Isle of Man’s industrial heritage.
Manx National Heritage continues to invest in the care and maintenance of Lady Isabella, ensuring that this remarkable feat of Victorian engineering remains operational for future generations. Alongside ongoing conservation, plans are progressing to further enhance the visitor experience and improve access to the story of the Island’s mining heritage.
Designed by Victorian engineer Robert Casement and completed in 1854, the Great Laxey Wheel was built to pump water from the depths of the Laxey mines. Powered by water diverted from Glen Mooar, the wheel stands 22.1 metres (72.6 feet) in diameter and remains the largest working water wheel in the world. For more than 170 years, Lady Isabella has captivated visitors and continues to stand as one of the Isle of Man’s most recognisable and celebrated landmarks.