author
Frederick Settle Barff
1823–1886
Best known for inventing practical ways to preserve iron and other materials, this Victorian chemist also moved easily between science, church decoration, and stained glass. His life brings together industry, art, and theology in a very 19th-century way.
1 Audiobook
British Manufacturing Industries: Pottery, Glass and Silicates, Furniture and Woodwork.
by Léon Arnoux, Frederick Settle Barff, John Hungerford Pollen
About the author
Frederick Settle Barff was an English chemist, ecclesiastical decorator, and stained glass maker whose work ranged far beyond the laboratory. Sources consistently describe him as especially interested in preservation methods, and he is remembered for developing processes intended to protect iron, stone, wood, and even foodstuffs.
He studied at Christ's College, Cambridge, and later served as the first Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Academy of Arts. That combination of scientific training and artistic work helps explain the unusual mix of subjects attached to his name: chemistry, church ornament, stained glass, and religious thought.
Barff died in 1886. Although not widely known today, he stands out as one of those Victorian figures who refused to stay in a single lane, linking practical invention with artistic and theological interests.