Stroll up the road from last week's warehouse and you find Laxey Mills. Not a dark satanic mill, well not nowadays anyway, but a modest stone building beside the Laxey river running out to sea.
Once end of the building is home to a weaver producing traditional Manx tartan stuff. I have a video of him at work on YouTube. If you are a tourist, it's great news as you'll be able to wear something proper Manx and more importantly, warm and cosy. It's not always as nice a day as my photos show!
The other end used to house a small workshop which was where I first saw laser cutting. Again, mostly tourist stuff with coasters and other wooden bits engraved with suitable designs. I came away with the 3D plaque showing the Laxey Wheel featuring some amazingly thinly cut wood.
A couple of features on the building interest me. For a start it's been extended if we judge by the roof lines. That's not a surprise as the building has been through several owners. Originally a corn mill, it was was converted in 1881 to a water-powered cotton mill. The water power has long gone as have the powered looms, everything is now hand-woven.
I can only assume the original owners were rather kind to their workers as those windows are massive. OK, the daylight would have saved money on lighting, and I suppose on cold days it would have been freezing in there, but it still seems generous.
Anyway, if you need a modest size mill for a railway layout this would be worth a look, or at least a prototype to inspire your own architecture.
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