Long-time reverend of the English Episcopal Chapel in Edinburgh.
Carr was born in Newcastle and educated at St. John's College, Cambridge. In 1726 he was appointed under-usher of the Royal Grammar School in St. Mary's Hospital in Newcastle, before, in 1737, moving to Edinburgh to become Senior Clergyman of the Episcopal Chapel in Edinburgh, a position which he kept until his death in 1776.
Following his death, his sermons were published in numerous editions by Sir William Forbes and others.
Boswell, William Forbes and William Scott accompanied Dr Johnson to the English chapel in Edinburgh on August 15, 1773, to hear a sermon by Rev. Carr. Boswell, in Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, lamented that "Johnson did not attend to the sermon, Mr. Carr's low voice not being strong enough to reach his hearing". He further noted, however, that Carr's sermons had "since his death, been published by Sir William Forbes, and the world has acknowledged their uncommon merit."
Various editions of Carr's sermons are available online on Google Books. Like many other similar works from the 18th century, they are, however, much more difficult to find in their original printed editions. It is sometimes possible to find 1st or 2nd editions via the AbeBooks used books search engine by searing for author "carr" and title "sermons", but beware of print-on-demand books.