Hardcastle was born at Firwood Hall, Tonge, near Bolton, Lancashire (demolished 1969), and was the fourth son of James Hardcastle of Firwood and Pen-y-lan, Ruabon, Denbighshire and Hannah Compton Jackson.
He was the only son of John Horridge, chemist, of Tonge with Haulgh, and Margaret Barlow of Bolton, Lancashire.
Tonge and Breedon railway station was a station at Tonge that served the adjacent village of Breedon-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire, England.
Middleton Railway Station was in Tonge.
Tonge | Baroness Tonge | Winckworth Tonge | Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge | Jenny Tonge | Israel Tonge |