 Both of Carr's buildings were designed in a distinctive neoclassical style; the Assize Court building was particularly praised at the time as being "a superb building of the Ionic order".The castle courtyard was grassed over to form a circle in 1777 and became known as the "Eye of the Ridings" because it was used for the election of members of parliament for York.Visits by the prison reformer John Howard as part of the research for his book "The State of the Prisons" found these prisons flawed, but in relatively good condition compared to others at the time.