Early life

Born in Hackney, London, the son of a doctor, Barff was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...

, where he earned a BA in 1844, followed by an MA

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in 1847. After graduating, he was ordained at Peterborough

Peterborough

Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

 and started work as an Anglican curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 in Hull. He also served as curate of St Nicholas' Church, Leicester, before, in 1852, converting to Catholicism.

Ecclesiastical decorator

By the mid 1850's, Barff established Mssrs. F.S. Barff & Co., an ecclesiatical decorating

Art in Roman Catholicism

Roman Catholic art consists of all visual works produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the teachings of the Catholic Church. This includes sculpture, painting, mosaics, metalwork, embroidery and even architecture. Catholic art has played a leading role in the...

 company, in Liverpool.

North England

He supervised the interior decoration of St Patrick's Church, Liverpool and painted the frescoes at Stonyhurst College

Stonyhurst College

Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...

. The firm also decorated the churches of St Wilfrid's, Preston and St Mary's, Chelsea.The Tablet, 13 Oct 1854(or 1855), 647 quoted in Irish Architectural Archive

Ireland

By 1858 Barff's company had moved to Dublin, possibly influenced by his contemporary and fellow convert John Hungerford Pollen

John Hungerford Pollen (senior)

John Hungerford Pollen was an English artist and writer on crafts and furniture.-Life:He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1845, with a parish in Leeds from 1847, writing of his experiences.He became a Catholic convert and left the...

, where most of the work was undertaken for Catholic churches.

Works executed in Ireland:

Location	Building	Date	Works
St Johnstown Ballinalee Ballinalee, formerly St Johnstown , is a village in north County Longford, Ireland. It is situated on the River Camlin, and falls within the parish of Clonbroney....	St Baithen's Church	1860	Stained glass, high altar Altar (Catholicism) In the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the altar is where the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. Mass may sometimes be celebrated outside a sacred place, but never without an altar, or at least an altar stone.-Precedent:...  and side altar
Gargary	St Patrick's Church	1860ca	Altar and tabernacle Church tabernacle A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry.... .
Newtowncunningham Newtowncunningham Newtown Cunningham , sometimes spelled Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton , is a village in The Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, Ireland. Located on the N13 road 18 km east of Letterkenny and 16 km west of Derry, it is ideally located as a commuter village for both...	Church	1860ca	Stained glass in chancel Chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...  and W gable
Letterkenny Letterkenny Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...	Loreto Convent Loreto Convent Loreto Convent is an all-girls secondary school located in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. It is located beside the Cathedral of St. Eunan and St Columba. It is one of nineteen Loreto Secondary Schools in Ireland.- History :...	1861	Stained-glass window in chapel.
Glenvar	Church of St Mary Star of the Sea Our Lady, Star of the Sea Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris, first reliably used with relation to the Virgin Mary in the ninth century...	1862	Altar and reredos panel Reredos thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries.... s filled with enamel work
Galway Galway Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...	Congretational Church	1862	Stained glass window
Monaghan Monaghan Monaghan is the county town of County Monaghan in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 7,811 . The town is located on the main road, the N2 road, from Dublin north to both Derry and Letterkenny.-Toponym:...	St Patrick's Church	1862	Lord Rossmore testimonial window.To a design chosen in competition.
Dublin	St Catherine's Church St. Catherine's Church, Dublin St. Catherine's Church, on Thomas Street, in Dublin, Ireland, was originally built in 1185. It is located on what was once termed the "Slí Mór" - a key route that ran westwards across Ireland from Dublin. The church was rebuilt in its present form in the 18th century by John Smyth .The church...	1862	High altar window, stereochromic painting
Dublin	St Paul's Church	1862–1863	Decoration
Dublin	St Patrick's Cathedral	1862 & 1863	Ascension window in S. transept Transept For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture... , 1862.Not executed Window in N transept. Celtic Revival clerestory Clerestory Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...  windows, 1863.
Mullagh Mullagh, County Cavan Mullagh is a village in County Cavan province of Ulster, Ireland. It had a population of 679 in 2006. It lies in the south-east of the county, at the junction of the R191 and the R194 regional roads near the town of Virginia, County Cavan and the border with Kells, County Meath and the village of...	Church	1862ca	Caen stone Caen stone Caen stone or Pierre de Caen, is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in northwestern France near the city of Caen.The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ago...  altar.
Dublin	Shop(?) No. 93-94, Ryan Bros	1863	Decoration.
Ballinasloe	St Michael St Michael St Michael was a brand that was owned and used by Marks & Spencer from 1928 until 2000.-History:The brand was introduced by Simon Marks in 1928, after his father and co-founder of Marks & Spencer, Michael Marks. By 1950, virtually all goods were sold under the St Michael brand... 's ChurchAs illustrated.	?	Stained glass window in apse Apse In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome... .
Carlow Carlow Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...	St Patrick's College St. Patrick's, Carlow College St Patrick's, Carlow College, founded in 1782 by Dr James Keefe, then Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, and his co-adjutor Bishop Daniel Delany, and opened in 1793, is a college in Carlow, Ireland. Initially he attempted to open a seminary in Tullow, but instead took out a 999 year...	?	Chapel decoration
Dublin	St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Church , known also as St Mary's Pro-Cathedral or simply the Pro-Cathedral, is a pro-cathedral and is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland.-Status as "pro-cathedral":...	?	Decoration
Ardcath Ardcath Ardcath is a hamlet in County Meath, Ireland. It is a small area inhabited by around 1,870 people which is almost a 2% decrease from the 2006 to 2002 census. The surrounding areas include Garristown, Clonalvy, Duleek, Battramstown, Bellewstown and Stamullen....	St Mary's Church	?	High altar.

During this period, Barff gave a lecture on Decorative Art to the Dublin Mechanics InstitutePresented in 1860. and successfully patented several processes associated with his work, one of which won honourable mention during the 1862 International Exhibition

1862 International Exhibition

The International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...

.

Patents

Date	Application
Oct. 1860	Improvements in the production of artificial stone Artificial stone Artificial stone is a name for various kinds of synthetic stone products used from the 18th century onward. They have been used in building construction, civil engineering work, and industrial uses such as grindstones.... , which improvements are also applicable to the preservation of stone, bricks, tiles, and other analagous substances and materials.
Oct. 1860	An improved self acting apparatus for extinguishing candles in lamps or otherwise.
July 1861	A new or improved process for the induration and preservation of stone and other analagous absorbent substances or materials, which process is also applicable for the production of artificial stone.
June 1863	An improved means of protecting, preserving, and hardening surfaces of brick, cement, stone, stucco, and other analagous substances, which invention is also applicable to the preservation of timber.

The company continued to operate until 1864, when it went bankrupt, at which time Barff returned to England.

Teaching

On his return, Barff became a teacher at Beaumont College

Beaumont College

Beaumont College was a Jesuit public school in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England. In 1967 the school closed. The property became a conference centre, and from 2008 an hotel.-History of the estate:...

, a Jesuit school in Windsor, before moving to University College, London as assistant professor of chemistry. He later became professor of chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 at the Royal Academy of Arts for eight years and also at the Catholic University College, Kensington

Catholic University College, Kensington

This short lived institution was founded as a result of the ban on Catholic students attending the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.On the 21 November 1873 Cardinal Manning announced that the Roman Catholic Bishops had agreed to form a College of Higher Studies for Catholics. The College was...

, a position for which he was nominated by Cardinal Manning, as well as at the Beaumont College.

He was made a Fellow of the Chemical Society

Chemical Society

The Chemical Society was formed in 1841 as a result of increased interest in scientific matters....

 in 1867.

Barff acted as Examiner in Chemistry for the Natural science tripos at Cambridge university, a role he was first awarded in 1873.

Society of Arts lectures

Barff delivered three series of Cantor Lectures to the Society of Arts: in 1870, on artistic colours and pigment

Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...

s; in 1872, on the treatment of carbon compounds for heating and lighting purposes; and a further series on Silicates, Silicides, Glass, and Glass Painting.

He also delivered the juvenile lectures, for 1878, on the subject of Coal and its Compounds.

Barff was awarded two Art Society's medals: one for a paper on Zinc White as Paint, and the Treatment of Iron for the Prevention of Corrosion and the other for his paper on A New Antiseptic Compound

Boro glycerine

Boro-glycerine is a transparent yellow, tasteless, compound of boric acid and glycerine. It is a powerful antiseptic and is used primarily in oral and dental applications...

, the latter of which he presented to the society in March 1882.

Published works

• An Introduction to scientific chemistry, 1869.
• An introduction to scientific chemistry: designed for the use of schools, 1869
• Elementary chemistry, 1875.

Society of Arts publications

• On silicates, silicides, glass and glass painting, 1872
• Carbon & certain compounds of carbon, treated principally in reference to heating and illuminating purposes 1874
• The treatment of iron for the prevention of corrosion, 1877

Design and inventions

Barff is most widely remembered for his invention of a method of rust proofing cast iron

Cast iron

Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...

, named after him. The method used superheated steam

Superheated steam

Superheated steam is steam at a temperature higher than water's boiling point. If saturated steam is heated at constant pressure, its temperature will also remain constant as the steam quality increases towards 100% Dry Saturated Steam. Continued heat input will then generate superheated steam...

 to form a layer of tri-iron tetroxide

Iron(II,III) oxide

Iron oxide is the chemical compound with formula Fe3O4. It is one of a number of iron oxides, the others being iron oxide , which is rare, and iron oxide also known as hematite. It occurs in nature as the mineral magnetite. It contains both Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and is sometimes formulated as FeO ∙...

(Fe₃O₄), which proved much cheaper than traditional galvanisation. The method was subsequently improved by George Bower, after which the process became known as the Bower–Barff process. The Bower-Barff Rustless Iron Co. had works in Southwark and New York, the latter supplying cast-iron for many of the city's landmark buildings.

He also created an antiseptic

Antiseptic

Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction...

 compound, Boro glycerine

Boro glycerine

Boro-glycerine is a transparent yellow, tasteless, compound of boric acid and glycerine. It is a powerful antiseptic and is used primarily in oral and dental applications...

, primarily for the preservation of meats but which subsequently found many medical uses. It is still used in some parts of the world as an oral antiseptic in the treatment of mouth ulcers. A caricature of Barff, contemplating a barrel of boro glycerine, appeared in an 1882 edition of Punch

Punch (magazine)

Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...

 as No.84 of the Fancy Portraits series.

Barff was an early exponent of the use of hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

s as fuel, starting Sim & Barff's Patent Mineral Oil Steam Fuel Company, for the purpose of developing heating, power and lighting systems which could operate on liquid hydrocarbons. At a time when experiments in the field appeared to show little promise of success, Barff believed that

...these oils are doubtless destined to form the marine steam fuel of the future.

Barff's design experiments to remove noxious elements from the exhaust products of combustion in locomotives and similar furnaces, a pre-cursor to the catalytic convertor, were met with some ridicule as the weight of reagents needed were almost equal to the weight of fuel burned.

Patents

Date	Application
October 1869	A method by which the products of combustion Combustion Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...  evolved from locomotive Locomotive A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...  engines and other furnace Furnace A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the... s (are) passed through vessels containing chemical reagent Reagent A reagent is a "substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs." Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reactant is less specifically a "substance that is consumed in the course of... s, the object being to fix the sulphurous acid and carbonic acid Carbonic acid Carbonic acid is the inorganic compound with the formula H2CO3 . It is also a name sometimes given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water, because such solutions contain small amounts of H2CO3. Carbonic acid forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates...  forming part of the gaseous products by causing them to form non-volatile compounds.
1876	A process by which iron is preserved from rusting (forerunner to the Bower–Barff process)

Death

Barff died of complications associated with diabetes at Buckingham

Buckingham

Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...

, and was buried with his wife Margaretta in Kensal Green Cemetery

Kensal Green Cemetery

Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...

.