John Carrick Stuart Soutar was born in 1881 in Arbroath, Scotland.
After studying architecture in Dundee, Soutar moved to London in 1901, taking up a post as an architectural assistant for the Housing Department of the London County Council. The plans he devised drew heavily on the vision of garden cities.
 

By 1911, Soutar had won several town planning competitions, including one assessed by Raymond Unwin at Ruislip Manor. On the eve of the First World War, Soutar was appointed successor to Unwin as consultant architect to the Trust.

Soutar’s first large scale scheme stems from 1915: a plan for two quadrangles of flats at Bigwood and Southwood Courts, taking inspiration from Lutyens’ work in Central Square, with their use of purple and red brick. In 1922 Soutar added a picturesque group of tile-hung cottages at the junction of Brookland Rise and Brookland Hill, planned as ‘L’ shaped pairs to turn the street corners.
 

Not long after the war, large houses became sought after in the Suburb. Desirable plots of land were let by Soutar between Central Square and the Great Wall, fulfilling Unwin’s plan to develop the most lavish homes there. Soutar contributed houses to this area, including Turner Close.

As flats became more popular in the mid-1920s, Soutar was commissioned to build a small block to complete the corner of South Square after the abandonment of Lutyens’ plan for houses. Here, two inch grey bricks with red dressings were adopted to tie in with the rest of the Square.
 

Soutar was prolific, with many of his houses (such as at Middleway, Southway and Meadway) designed with compact, practical plans and garages to cater to the interwar middle-class. He was also determined to contribute a distinct townscape character to the commercial development of Ingram Avenue and Spaniards Close in the 1930s, giving the houses a Georgian appearance within their woodland setting.

Soutar prioritised massing over lavish decoration. A thorough sense of robustness was often fostered through the careful use of good materials – particularly brick and tiles. He carried on working in the Suburb until his death in 1951. An architect, surveyor, town planner and estate manager all at once, Soutar helped to consolidate the Arts and Crafts and Neo-Georgian roots of the Suburb after the First World War.