Frederick Settle Barff

Frederick Settle Barff (6 October 1822 – 11 August 1886) was an English chemist, ecclesiastical decorator, and stained glass manufacturer, much interested in theology.

He is best known as a chemist, having invented several important preservation methods for a range of materials, including iron, stone, wood and foodstuffs. Several of his stained glass windows still survive throughout Ireland and the north of England.

A portrait photograph of Barff appears in The History of St Stanislaus College, Beaumont, published in 1911.

Early life

Born in Hackney, London, the son of a doctor, Barff was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he earned a BA in 1844, followed by an MA in 1847. After graduating, he was ordained at Peterborough and started work as an Anglican curate in Hull. He also served as curate of St Nicholas' Church, Leicester, before, in 1852, converting to Catholicism.

Ecclesiastical decorator

By the mid-1850s, Barff established Mssrs. F.S. Barff & Co., an ecclesiastical decorating company, in Liverpool.

North England

He supervised the interior decoration of St Patrick's Church, Liverpool and painted the frescoes at Stonyhurst College. The firm also decorated the churches of St Wilfrid's, Preston and St Mary's, Chelsea.

Ireland

By 1858 Barff's company had moved to Dublin, possibly influenced by his contemporary and fellow convert John Hungerford Pollen, where most of the work was undertaken for Catholic churches.

Works executed in Ireland:

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