Edwin George Hardy was born in born in Cranbrook, Kent in 1859 and was the son of the artist Frederick Daniel Hardy (1827-1911). He trained as an architect in the office of Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912) and attended the Royal Academy Schools in London where he won a gold medal for design in architecture and a travelling scholarship for studies in Italy.
The 1881 England census gives his occupation as Clerk to Architect. By the early 1890s he was practicing as an architect. He was also a decorative designer. A hanging lamp in brass designed by him was shown in the 1st exhibition of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society in London in 1888.
His address was given as 17 Brunswick Gardens, London in 1881 and 1888; and 4 Devonshire Street, St. Marylebone, London in 1891. He died in 1896. His death was registered in St. Marylebone, London. It is thought that he committed suicide.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001