Architect.

Born in 1723 John was the eldest of the 9 children of Rose Lascelles and Robert Carr, a stone mason and quarry owner in Horbury. The lived in a cottage at the Northfield Road end of Cluntergate.

On leaving school John joined the family business learning construction and draughtmanship while he worked at Bretton Hall and Chevet Park. These skills stood him in good stead when he began his architectural practice around 1748

In 1746 he married Sarah Hinchliffe of South Hiendley in Featherstone but they had no children.

He moved to York in the early 1750s and began to establish himself as a rising young architect. In 1752 in partnership with his father he took on the huge task of surveying the West Riding’s bridges.

Carr came to be regarded as the leading architect in the North of England. He designed, extended and altered many country houses for the nobility and gentry, as well as a number of public buildings many of which are in Yorkshire. These include:-

• Arncliffe Hall, North Yorkshire
• Aston Hall, Rotherham (1775)
• Aukland Castle Park, Durham
• Basildon Park, Berkshire (1776 – 83)
• Bishop's Palace, York, North Yorkshire
• Boynton Hall, East Riding of Yorkshire
• Byram Hall, Castleford, North Yorkshire
• Cannon Hall, Barnsley (1764 - 67)
• Castle Howard, North Yorkshire
• Clifton House, Rotherham (1783 - 84)
• Colwick Hall, Notts (1775)
• Constable Burton Hall, North Yorkshire
• The Crescent, Buxton (1781)
• Denton Hall, Ilkley, North Yorkshire
• Eastwood House, Rotherham
• Escrick Park, North Yorkshire
• Eshald (Old) Hall, Heath, Wakefield
• Everingham Park, East Riding of Yorkshire
• Farnley Hall, Otley, North Yorkshire
• Fillingham Castle, Lincolnshire
• Gledstone Hall, North Yorkshire
• Grantley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire
• Greta Bridge, Durham
• Grimston Garth, East Riding of Yorkshire
• Harewood House, West Yorkshire (1759-71)
• Hazelwood Castle, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire
• Holker Hall, Cumbria
• Hornby Castle, North Yorkshire
• Lytham Hall, Lancashire
• Micklegate House, York (1753)
• New Walk, York,
• Plumpton Rocks, North Yorkshire
• Raby Castle, Durham
• Ribston Hall, North Yorkshire
• Ripley Castle, North Yorkshire
• Rokeby Park, Durham
• Sedbury Hall, Richmond, North Yorkshire
• Tabley House, Cheshire (1767)
• Temple Grounds, Richmond, North Yorkshire
• Thoresby Park, Nottinghamshire
• Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire
• Wiganthorpe Park, Hovingham, North Yorkshire
• Workington Hall, Cumbria
• Wortley Hall, South Yorkshire

In 1766 as Surveyor to the West Riding, John Carr was put in charge of building a new House of Correction in Wakefield which cost £2770.

Other buildings in the Wakefield area that he is known to have worked on include:-

• Horbury vicarage (now demolished)
• Heath Hall - remodelled 1754 – 1780
• Thornes House, Wakefield (1779 – 82)
• The new bridge over the Aire at Ferrybridge, completed in 1803
• Possibly responsible for houses in Westgate, Wakefield commissioned by the Milnes family

Much of his work was in the Palladian style, inspired by the proportional classicism of the great 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio.  The Palladian style is a mix of classical references with an emphasis on symmetry and scale, the carefully worked proportions combine to make the house feel grand. He later moved on from the Palladian style, was influenced by Robert Adam and pioneered the  Gothic Revival

He served as Lord Mayor of York in 1770 and 1785.

St Peter's Church, Horbury was designed, built and paid for in 1793 at a cost of £8,000, by John  Carr as a gift to the people of Horbury. He died in 1807 in Askham Richard, near York, but is buried in the crypt of St Peters, now a Grade I listed building.