Mining began in laxey towards the end of the 18 th century. Mining continued with various companys around the laxey and lonan areas. however by 1849 the principal mining company was the great laxey mining company and it was this company that decided to build a water wheel to pump the water out of the mines. At that time the water wheel by the glen moar river was pumping the water out of the mine. It was planned to build a water wheel but Robert Casemant argued and said the only sollution to this problem was to build a water wheel twice as big as the old one.Casemant's idea was to build a functional wheel typically found at other mines but much bigger. Water was to be supplied to the wheel by an over head trough of typical design,but with a stonetower with its spiral stairs and piped water suply which would run upthrough the tower and along the top platform.