[1] 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 approximately three times per minute.

The wheel was built in 1854 to pump water from the Glen Mooar part of the Great Laxey Mines industrial complex.

Water from the surrounding area – including a number of local springs and streams – is collected in a cistern, which is above the level of the top of the wheel.

A closed pipe connects the cistern to the top of the wheel; thus the water flows up the tower as an inverted syphon.

Most of the wheel and rod is made of wood; however key mechanical parts are metal to provide tension and bearing surfaces.