edwin initially employed the services of john carr, an architect practising in the north of england and previously employed by a number of prominent yorkshire families to design their new country houses. the foundations were laid in 1759, with the house being largely complete by 1765. the fashionable robert adam submitted designs for the interiors, which were approved in 1765. adam made a number of minor alterations to carr's designs for the exterior of the building, including internal courtyards. the house remained largely untouched until the 1840s when sir charles barry was employed by henry lascelles, 3rd earl of harewood, the father of thirteen children, to increase the accommodation. barry added second storeys to each of the flanking wings to provide extra bedrooms, removed the south portico and created formal parterres and terraces.