He was the son of Canon James Bardsley, once a Bradford curate.

[1] He continued his education at Manchester Grammar School[2] and Trinity College, Dublin.

In 1891 he was translated to Carlisle,[6] a post he held until his death on 14 March 1914.

Whilst at Bootle he had married Mary Powell with whom he had five children.

[8] Later generations of the Bardsley family included Cyril Bardsley, Bishop of Peterborough from 1924 to 1927, and Cuthbert Bardsley, suffragan Bishop of Croydon from 1947 to 1956, and Bishop of Coventry from 1956 to 1976.