John Carrick Stuart Soutar [also known as J. C. Southar and as John Soutar] was born in Arbroath, Scotland on 25 January 1881. He was articled to Thomas Martin Cappon (1863-1939) from 1897 to 1901, during which time he also attended Dundee University College where he was awarded the Queen's Prize. He then moved to London and was employed as an assistant in London County Council Architects' Department from 1901 to 1912.
In 1912 Soutar formed the architectural partnership A. & J. Sourter, in London with his older brother, Archibald Stuart Soutar (1879-1951). The address of the business was given as 8 King William IV Street, London in 1912. It relocated to Wyldes, North End, Hampstead, London in 1926. The office eventually closed in c.1941.
In 1913 the Soutars were commissioned by Raymend Unwin (1863-1940) to work at Hampstead Garden Suburb and in 1915 J. C. Soutar was appointed sole architect to Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust. The brothers were also joint architects to Ruislip Manor Ltd. and Knebworth Estates.
J. C. Soutar was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1911, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1926. He was a Member of the Council of the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association
Soutar's address was given as 19 Charing Cross Road, London and 37 Westover Road, Wandsworth, London in 1911; 8 King William Street, Strand, London and Wyldes, North End, Hampstead, London in 1914 and 1939. He died in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London on 27 February 1951.
"Southwood Court", Hampstead Garden Suburb, N.W.II (block of flats for Officers' Families' Association); block of six shops and flats, Addison Way, Hampstead Garden Suburb: preparatory school at "Belmont", Mill Hill; workshops and stores at Temple Fortune, Finchley Road, N.W.ll. Housing schemes: — At Eltham. Kent, and at Ruislip, Northwood, and Golders Green, Middlesex. Over 100 private houses In the Hampstead Garden Suburb and neighbourhood. the Barnett Homestead, Hampstead Garden Suburb (block of 12 flats for soldiers' widows and families); garage and flats at Kinnerton Street, Knightsbridge; School chapel at Mill Hill; houses: — Banbury Road. Oxford, and near Haslemere; church hall, Golders Green; the Henrietta Barnett School, Golders Green; public garage, Golders Green; etc. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1926]
Beattie, Susan. A Revolution in London Housing: LCC Housing Architects & Their Work. 1893-1914. London: Architectural Press/Greater London Council Department of Architecture and Civic Design, 1980
Davidson, David ‘Context, Texture and Restraint: John Carrick Stuart Soutar at Hampstead Garden Suburb’. Twentieth Century Architecture no.12, 2015 pp.16-33
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 180, 9 March 1951 p. 359
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal vol. 58, April 1951 p. 249