John Carr (1723 – 22 February 1807) was an English architect. He is best known for Buxton Crescent in Derbyshire and Harewood House in West Yorkshire. Much of his work was in the Palladian style. In his day he was considered to be the leading architect in the north of England. Dr. Ivan Hall published in 2023 a study of John Carr after a lifetime's work (John Carr of York: Collected Essays).
Life He was born in 1723 in Horbury near Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest of nine children and the son of a master mason, under whom he trained. He started an independent career in 1748 and continued until shortly before his death. John Carr was Lord Mayor of York in 1770 and again in 1785. Towards the end of his life Carr purchased an estate at Askham Richard, near York, to which he retired. On 22 February 1807 he died at Askham Hall. He was buried in St Peter and St Leonard's Church, Horbury, which he had designed and paid for.
Career Carr decided to remain in Yorkshire rather than move to London because he calculated that there was ample patronage and the wealth to sustain it. His largest work, only partially finished, was the Hospital de Santo António in Porto, Portugal. In order to maximise his income, he kept his staff to the minimum. His earliest assistant was architect William Lindley,H Colvin Yale Univ Press, p.654 who from 1774 developed an independent practice. He was followed by the elder Peter AtkinsonH Colvin Yale Univ Press p.76 and possibly his son Peter the younger. Carr's nephew William Carr also assisted him in his latter years. These architectural assistants had in turn 'boys' to help them. Carr rarely delegated matters that others would regard as too trivial, and in consequence he had to travel immense distances, mostly on horseback;see correspondence Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments Sheffield Record Office however, the frequency of such visits brought him into regular contact with his many clients to mutual advantage.Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments Sheffield Record Office
Carr's own favourite work was Buxton Crescent in Derbyshire, an early example of multifunctional architecture. As well as hotels and lodging houses, it contained Assembly Rooms, shops, a post office and a public promenade all under one roof.see Carr's portrait (above) by Beechey where the building is illustrated On a smaller scale, the same is true of his Newark Town Hall.York Georgian Society. (1973). The works in architecture of John Carr:a list prepared by the York Georgian Society.
Other public buildings included hospitals, such as Lincoln and York; racecourse grandstands, such as York, Doncaster and Nottingham (all now demolished); and prisons at Wakefield and Northallerton. He designed new churches as well as repairing old ones. The former were all privately financed, the latter were financed by the existing parishes. His single span roof construction allowed him to build the new churches without the traditional subdivision into nave and aisles.see plans in Wakefield County Record Office
He served as bridgemaster for both the North and West Ridings of Yorkshire, leaving a legacy of many bridges, the majority of which still stand today.The Industrial Architecture of Yorkshire by Jane Hatcher, p. 69, The more than sixty bridges built or altered by Carr still serve the backbone of North Yorkshire's road-transport network. Carr was Lord Mayor of York in 1770 and 1785.
His commissions for country houses included model villages and farms, stable blocks, a variety of gate lodges and gateways, garden temples and other ornamental buildings. Notable among them his works for the estates of Harewood House and Wentworth Woodhouse.The relevant drawings are in the record offices of Leeds and Sheffield.
He took particular care with their planning and construction to maximise value for money for both the immediate patron and for the buildings' future long-term maintenance. He used traditional materials and methods of construction where these had proved sound, but adopted new methods and materials where these could be shown to have an advantage. His training as a stonemason naturally led him to build in that material; in particular, he enjoyed using 'great' stones as at Tabley House. He liked well-proportioned rooms which were satisfactory living spaces with or without decorative enrichment. In his view the latter could be provided later if money permitted. As a result, most of his buildings were completed and because of the soundness of construction most survive.
Among the buildings accessible in whole or part to the public today are Buxton Crescent, Newark Town Hall, virtually all his bridges, Harewood House, Tabley House, Clifton House (now a museum in Rotherham), Lytham Hall and Fairfax House at 27 Castlegate York, now the headquarters of York Civic Trust.
Influences During his long career there were several major changes in architectural style. His early work is a mixture of the Palladian and the Rococo. He then sought a purer Antique Roman style with occasional French influences before adapting the currently fashionable style associated with Robert Adam. At the end of his life he returned to the bolder Palladian style of his youth but with detail that looked forward to 19th-century usage.
Carr's work was influenced by the books of Sebastiano Serlio and Andrea Palladio. He subscribed to many architectural pattern books, including those of his friend George Richardson, and also contemporary publications by Robert Morris and William Chambers.
List of works
Public buildings (dem = demolished) in chronological order, county given if not Yorkshire York The Pikeing Well-House New Walk 1752–1756 York Grandstand Knavesmire Racecourse 1755–1756, demolished Beverley Assembly Rooms, 1761–1763 demolished Wakefield, The House of Correction, 1766–1770 demolished Leeds, The General Infirmary, 1768–1771 demolished Porto, Portugal, The Hospital de Santo António 1769 – Newark Town Hall, Newark, Nottinghamshire, Town Hall, Assembly Rooms and Market Hall, 1773–1776 York, Assize Courts, now York Crown Court 1773–1777 York County Lunatic Asylum, 1774–1777 Lincoln County Hospital, Lincolnshire, 1776 Doncaster, Racecourse Grandstand, 1777–1781 demolished Nottingham, racecourse grandstand, 1777 demolished Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Assembly Rooms, 1778 demolished Kelso, Roxburghshire, design for Racecourse Grandstand, 1778 (built in 1822) Buxton, Derbyshire, The Assembly Rooms in the Crescent 1779–1790 York, The Female Prison, 1780–1783 Northallerton, Court House, 1784–1788 demolished Northallerton, House of Correction 1784–1788 Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Town Hall, 1787–1788 demolished Lismore, County Waterford in Ireland, design for court building, today a heritage centre 1799
Churches
Ravenfield, 1756 Kirkleatham, Payment for design, 1759 Dewsbury Minster, Partly rebuilt 1765–1767 Bierley, 1766, attributed to Carr Boynton, largely rebuilt 1768–1770 York Minster, survey and repairs 1770–1773 and 1794–1797; Joseph Halfpenny was clerk of works on this project Sheffield Cathedral of St. Peter, alterations 1773–1775 Rokeby, completed church 1777–78 Denton, 1776; attributed to Carr Holy Rood Church, Ossington, Nottinghamshire, 1782–83 St Peter and St Leonard's Church, Horbury, 1790–1794
Bridges Listed bridges include:
Other bridges include:
North and East Ridings of Yorkshire Aysgarth (R.Ure), 1788 Birdforth (Birdforth Beck), 1798, demolished Catterick, over River Swale, 1792 Crambeck Bridge, 1785 Croft, over River Tees, 1795 Danby Wiske, 1782 Downholme, over River Swale, 1773 East Row, Sandsend, near Whitby, 1777 Ellerbeck, near Osmotherley, 1790 Greta, near Rokeby, 1773 Grinton over R.Swale, 1797 Hawnby, over River Rye), 1800 Howsham Bridge, not executed Kilvington, over Spital Beck, 1774, demolished Kirkham Bridge, not executed Low Bourn, over River Burn, near Masham, 1775 Morton on Swale, over River Swale, 1800–1803 South Otterington, over River Wiske, 1776 Reeth, over Arkle Beck, 1772–73 Riccall, near Helmsley, 1803 Richmond, over River Swale, 1789 Rutherford, over River Greta, 1773 Skeeby, 1782 Skipton on Swale, 1783 Strensall, over River Foss, 1798 Thirkleby, 1799 Thirsk Mill, Millgate, over Cod Beck, 1789 York, Yearsley Bridge, over River Foss, 1794–95
West Riding Carlton Ferry, near Snaith, over River Aire, 1774 Coniston Cold, over River Aire, 1763 Ferry Bridge, Brotherton, over River Aire, 1797–1804 Marle Bridge, over River Dearne, near Darfield, 1766 Selby, 1795 in part for the wooden bridge
Private bridges Denton Park, c. 1770 Harewood Park, Yorkshire, c. 1771 Norton Place Park, Lincolnshire, c. 1776 Unexecuted bridge designs for Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire
Domestic architecture
(The following are in Yorkshire, unless otherwise stated) The New Lodge, New Lodge, Barnsley, c.1760, built as a dwelling for John Carr himself Kirby Hall, Ouseburn, 1747 – c.1755, demolished Huthwaite Hall, Thurgoland, 1748 Askham Hall, Askham Richard, c.1750, demolished Thorp Arch Hall, 1750–1754 Gledhow Hall, Gledhow, Roundhay, Leeds c. 1764 for J. Dixon Arncliffe Hall, Ingleby Arncliffe, c. 1750–1754 York, 47 Bootham, 1753 Campsmount, Campsall near Doncaster, 1752–1755, demolished Leeds, town house for J. Dixon 1753 Durham House, Northallerton, c.1754 Heath Hall, near Wakefield, 1754–1780 Dower House, Heath. York, Petergate, house for J. Mitchell, 1755, demolished York, Fairfax House, 27 Castlegate, circa 1755–1762; Gilling Castle Howsham Mill, near Malton, c. 1755 Plompton Hall, near Knaresborough, c. 1755–1762 York, Garforth House, No. 54 Micklegate, c. 1755–1757 Lytham Hall, Lancashire, 1757–1764 Goldsborough Hall, remodelling, c. 1750s Newby Hall, remodelling, c. 1758–1760 Everingham Hall 1758–1764 Kirklees Hall, alterations, 1759–60 Harewood House, 1755–1771 (except the decoration of the principal rooms) Harewood village and other estate buildings Kirkland Hall, near Garstang, Lancashire. 1760, attributed to Carr Ravenfield Hall, near Rotherham, alterations, 1760–1770, demolished Tabley House, Cheshire, c. 1760–1777 Hornby Castle, c. 1760–1770, partly demolished Wentworth Woodhouse, c. 1760–1804, completed the house, and numerous important estate buildings Clints Hall near Richmond, demolished Castlegate House, Castlegate, York, 1762–63 Campsall Hall, alterations, 1762–1764, demolished Stapleton Park, c. 1762–1764, demolished Grove Hall, near Retford, Nottinghamshire remodelled c. 1762, demolished Constable Burton Hall, c. 1762–1768 Escrick Park, remodelled, 1763–1765 White Windows, Sowerby Bridge, 1763–1768 Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire 1763, 1774–1777 Cannon Hall near Barnsley, 1764, 1778 onwards Goldsborough Hall nr. Knaresborough, internal alterations, 1764–65 Swinton Park, near Masham, alterations 1764–1767 Kirkleatham Hall, remodelling, 1764–1767, demolished Swarland Hall, near Felton, Northumberland, 1765, attributed to Carr, demolished Courteenhall, Northamptonshire, stables, after 1765 York, Skeldergate, his own house, 1765–1769, demolished Aske Hall, c. 1765–1769 Boynton Hall near Bridlington, c.1765–1780 Fangfoss Hall, East Yorkshire c.1766 Halifax, Somerset House and warehouse, c.1766 Towneley Hall, Lancashire, interiors, 1766–67 Pye Nest near Halifax, 1767, demolished Thoresby Hall, Nottinghamshire, 1767–1771, demolished Castle William, Budby Nottinghamshire, Thoresby Hall Estate c.1767 Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, alterations c.1767–1772 attributed to Carr Raby Castle, County Durham, remodelled, 1768–1788 Leeds, Bridge End, house for Mr. Green, before 1769 Kilnwick Hall, remodelled 1769–1772, 1781, demolished Townend Farm, Kilnwick, 1770 The Shay, near Halifax, c.1770, demolished Byram Hall and farm near Ferrybridge, remodelled c.1770, largely demolished Gledstone Hall and stables near Skipton, c.1770, attributed to Carr, house demolished Aston Rectory, near Rotherham, c. 1770