Barwell was born Louisa Mary Bacon in the parish of Saint Peter Mancroft, Norwich, on 4 March 1800. She was the daughter of Richard Mackenzie Bacon by his wife Jane Louisa (Noverre), born 1768, died 1808. At the age of eighteen she was associated with her father in the editorship of the Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review.
A talented musician with a fine voice, she played from score at sight. She contributed to the Quarterly Journal of Education from about the year 1831, anticipating later views and plans of education. Her husband, who shared her interest in this subject, was largely instrumental in securing the success of a scheme by which a charity day-school for girls at Norwich was converted into an industrial training-school for girls.
In the literary society of Norwich, as portrayed by Harriet Martineau, Mistress
Barwell held an important place.
