A younger brother of
Thomas Duffus Hardy, he was born in
Jamaica on 6 July 1807 and came to England at the same time as his brother, in 1811. He was educated at
Fotheringhay and later at Boulogne. In February 1823, he obtained an appointment at the
Tower of London, under
Samuel Lysons, similar to the one his brother had obtained in 1819: Lysons was their uncle. Seven years later he was offered and accepted the post of keeper of the records of the
Duchy of Lancaster. In 1839 he was elected a fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries. He had also a private practice in antiquarian, legal, and genealogical inquiries, and made a reputation: he was consulted in numerous disputes on
foreshore fishery and
common rights, and was well known for applications made to the
House of Lords for the restoration of peerages in
abeyance. While at the Duchy of Lancaster he worked on arranging the
muniments. In 1868 Queen Victoria decided to present the duchy records to the nation, and incorporate them with the public archives. Hardy was then transferred to the
Public Record Office and appointed an assistant-keeper in there. In 1878, on the death of his brother,
Sir George Jessel offered him the post of deputy-keeper, which he held for eight years. He resigned, in poor health, on 27 January 1886. Hardy was placed on the
Historical Manuscripts Commission on 12 July 1878, and knighted at
Osborne House on 31 December 1883. He died on 17 March 1887. ==Works==