John Baxter was a Scottish architect based in Edinburgh. He was active in the 18th century and often worked in the Palladian style particularly for his patron Sir John Clerk of Penicuik and his son, James. In the 1730s and 1740s he was responsible for the designing and building of many substantial, Scottish country houses. His son, John Baxter, the younger (died 1798), took over his business after returning from Italy with his brother Alexander, sometime around 1769. Baxter died soon afterward, around 1770.
Sources:
Colvin, Howard, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, 3rd edition (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1995), pp. 111-112.