Standard five-inch rain gauge

Rain gauge with five-inch diameter, of the type adopted in the 1860s by the British Rainfall Organisation and later the Meteorological Office, made in Britain, 1900s. The gauge consists of a copper funnel, an outer can and an internal collector. The rim is one foot off the ground to prevent in-splashing.

Regular monitoring of rainfall in Britain was stimulated by a run of unusually dry years in the 1850s. Meteorologist George James Symons was instrumental in establishing a network of hundreds of observers who reported their observations back to him for publication, in a initiative partly funded by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Symons conducted tests of different rain gauge designs, and recommended this five-inch-diameter design as the standard device. Gauges of this type were also adopted by the Meteorological Office.