[1] Barrow matriculated at London University in 1871, holding a Turner scholarship.
Admitted to King's College London, he studied science, winning prizes in mathematics and geology.
[3][4] Every first appearance of an index mineral was taken by Barrow as the beginning of a new metamorphic zone.
Barrow was awarded the Bolitho Medal of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall in 1912.
[5] The Barrow Award of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain & Ireland for contributions to metamorphic geology is named in his honour.