Bolton had a number of barometer makers, as well as other trades such as watchmakers who also produced Barometers.
You can find the makers directory here: Directory
Active in the 19th century, there was a boom in demand for barometers where, barometers evolved from purely scientific instruments into prized decorative furnishings for British homes.
The early-to-mid 19th century saw prominent immigrant and domestic makers—such as Italian-heritage artisan families such as G.B. Giobbio.
Common Barometer Types:
Banjo Barometers (Wheel Barometers): Elongated, wood-carved frames shaped like a banjo that became popular in late-Victorian and Edwardian interiors.
Stick Barometers: Straight-tube mercury barometers prized for high scientific accuracy and clean lines.
Admiral FitzRoy Barometers: Distinctive domestic/maritime FitzRoy models housed in larger architectural wood cases.
Aneroid Barometers: Spring-based dial barometers (invented in the mid-19th century without liquid mercury).
The term Barometer
Robert Boyle the author of “Boyle’s Law”, introduced the word ‘barometer’ into our language about the year 1665n in which the ‘suspended Cylinder of
Quicksilver’ was called a ‘Barometer or Baroscope.
‘The General History of the Air by the Hon. Robert Boyle, Esq.,’ published in London in 1692, which contains ‘A short Account of the Statical Baroscope, imparted by Mr. Boyle.
The reading of the mercurial barometer, designated at first ‘baroscope,’ was recorded in inches and tenths, but in another register, kept at Townley Hall, in Burnley, Lancashire, during a portion of the years 1670 and 1671, it was recorded by to hundredths of an inch.
Richard Towneley (1629–1707) was an English astronomer, mathematician, and natural philosopher. Towneley’s precise observations on air pressure and volume contributed directly to what Robert Boyle later formulated as Boyle’s Law initially referred to by contemporaries as “Mr. Towneley’s Hypothesis”.