Charles Alfred Harding was born on 12 July 1887 and was articled to William Forrest Salmon (1843-1911), James Salmon (1873-1924) and John Gaff Gillespie (1870-1926) of Salmon, Son & Gillespie in Glasgow, Scotland from 1904 to 1909. He also attended evening classes at Glasgow School of Art from 1904 to 1911, and studied at Glasgow School of Architecture from 1908 to 1910, the Royal Technical College in Edinburgh, and the British School of Rome.
Harding qualified as an architect in 1911 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) later that year. He then worked as an assistant to Thompson & Walford in London in 1911-12, and in His Majesty's Office of Works and London County Council from 1912 to c.1914. After serving in the Royal Navy in World War One, he was employed as chief assistant by Percy L Browne & Glover in Newcastle upon Tyne from 1919 to c.1925 when he joined the firm as a partner in what became Percy L Browne & Harding. Harding was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1932. He died in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1959.
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