He was the eldest son of William Short, Archdeacon of Cornwall, with Elizabeth Hodgkinson, and was born at Dawlish, Devon, where his father was then curate.

[1] In 1814 Short became perpetual curate of Drayton, Oxfordshire, but he resigned this post to concentrate on a college tutorship.

Circumstances, however, led him to become in 1816 the incumbent of Cowley, Oxfordshire; in 1823 of Stockleigh Pomeroy, Devon; and in 1826 of Kingsworthy, Hampshire.

At Christ Church he became successively tutor and censor (1816–29), librarian (1823), catechist and Busby lecturer (1825), and in 1823 he served as proctor.

In 1829 Short went to reside at Kingsworthy, but in 1831 he accepted an offer from Lord Chancellor Brougham of the rectory of St George's, Bloomsbury.

During an episcopate of five years Short mainly resided in the diocese, visiting the parishes and promoting the education of candidates for holy orders.