During the king's search for an annulment to his first marriage, Barlow acted as a courier between England and Italy, while Rector of Hever.
[1] Barlow was intimately involved in the King's attempts to secure a divorce from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon from the Pope.
Barlow uncovered evidence of Cardinal Wolsey's betrayal of the King's cause in Rome, which he faithfully reported to a horrified Anne in 1528.
This information helped solidify the future queen's hatred towards Wolsey, something which played a major part in the Cardinal's fall from power the following year.
He had three brothers: William Barlow, and Thomas, who were both men of the church, and Roger, a merchant operating in Seville and Bristol, and who sailed to South America with Sebastian Cabot.