Charles James Richardson was an English architect, artist and writer.

Richardson was a pupil of Sir John Soane, from 1824 to 1830; he then became Soane's assistant, holding the position until 1837 and Soane's death. Soane's will envisaged that Richardson would be the assistant curator and librarian of the Soane Museum. In the event, for financial reasons, he was not offered a post. For a period Richardson tried, without success, to set up an architectural academy. He became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1838, remaining a member to 1868.

From 1845 to 1852 Richardson was master of the architectural class in the school of design at Somerset House. In 1852 he designed Leicester Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington's mansion 13 Kensington Palace Gardens; in 1853 he carried out works at Belsize Park, Hampstead, and in 1856 a block of mansions in Queen's Gate, Hyde Park, for W. Jackson. He died in 1871.