 Educated at Bruges from 1826 to 1830 and at home, where one of his tutors was George Borrow, Barnes began his medical career in 1832 as an apprentice in Norwich to Dr. Richard Griffin.When his family moved to London he studied at University College, the Windmill Street school, and at St. George's Hospital.Becoming a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1842, Barnes spent a year in Paris, where he concentrated on mental illness; on his return to London he settled in general practice in Notting Hill.