Benjamin Hardy

Benjamin Hardy (c.1831 - 19 May 1914) was a leading Conservative Party politician in Chiswick.

In the 1840s he set up business as a butcher in Chelsea. He won a number of prizes at the Great Exhibition of 1851. In the 1860s he sold the business and purchased the Gordon House Estate near Chiswick. In 1870 he went into business with Thomas Layton, also a local politician, as a coal merchant. When Layton retired Hardy took over the business. He was later to join Layton on the Middlesex County Council.

Hardy later sold the Gordon Estate as building land, becoming very wealthy in the process.

In 1870 he was elected to Chiswick Improvement Commissioners, of which he was for some years chairman. When Chiswick Local Board was formed he became a member and was chairman for 1893-94. When the first Chiswick Urban District Council elections were held in 1894 he unexpectedly failed to win a seat. He did subsequently gain a seat on the council, and served as chairman. He was also a founder member of the Chiswick School Board.

In 1870 he was elected to the Brentford Board of Guardians and remained a member until his death. He was chairman of the board for much of that time.

In 1889 the Middlesex County Council was formed, and Hardy was chosen as an alderman. Re-elected in 1892 and 1898 he lost his seat in 1904.

He died in a drowning accident at his home, aged eighty-three.