Barnardiston was the son of Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston of Kedington ("Ketton"), Suffolk and his wife Jane, daughter of Sir Stephen Soame, Lord Mayor of London.
[3] He matriculated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge in Autumn 1633[4] and was admitted at Gray's Inn on 1 May 1635.
He commanded a foot regiment of the Suffolk Trained Bands at the Siege of Colchester in 1648.
[9][10] He supported the Restoration of the Monarchy, and was created 1st Baronet of Ketton by King Charles II on 7 April 1663.
[1] His daughter Anne became the second wife of the traveller Sir Philip Skippon (1641-1691) of Wrentham and Edwardstone in Suffolk.