| OS Map Ref SD 801 125 |
And here is the destination for the water, the pit for the water wheel.
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This drawing of the wheel in operation is taken from the Bury Metro sign at the site and shows the scale of the water wheel. Apparently it was one of the largest in the north west. |
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The waterwheel was of a design known as 'high breastshot', whereby the water is introduced into the buckets of the wheel above and behind its centre. The weight of the water then drives the wheel round by gravity, as in this drawing:
Notice that the stonework in the lower quarter follows the curve of the wheel. In practice there would be only about 1 inch of clearance between the tips of the buckets and the stone wall at the back. This helped to prevent the water tipping out of the buckets too soon and improved the efficiency of the waterwheel. | |
The curved stonework can be seen clearly on the right of this photograph, together with the archway through which the water flowed via the kill race into the nearby river Irwell after use. |
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