Sir Donald William Insall (born 7 February 1926) is a British architect, conservationist and author, who has been described as "one of the leading conservation architects of his generation". He is the founder of the architectural, conservation and architectural consultancy practice,

Donald Insall Associates Donald Insall Associates is a firm of architects, designers and historic building consultants. They have worked on contemporary and historic listed buildings, monuments and sites throughout Britain, and at UNESCO World Heritage Sites including ...

Early life

Insall was born on 7 February 1926 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, where he attended

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

. He served in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and qualified in architecture at the Royal West of England Academy School of Architecture, now part of the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. He then studied at the Royal Academy and the School of Planning.

Career

Insall worked with the London architects, Phillimore and Jenkins. During 1957 Insall published his report ''The Care of Old Buildings'', marking the 80th anniversary of the founding by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

of the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

. During 1958 he founded architectural conservation practice

, and was joined shortly after by Peter Locke (1929–2013), both men having been Lethaby Scholars of the

in 1950. Insall was appointed the City of Chester's consultation consultant in 1960, a post he held until 1978.

continues its specialist work in conservation, historic consultancy, adaptive re-use and new buildings in sensitive sites. Insall ran the practice until his retirement in 1998, and continues active as a Consultant.

Honours

In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other co ...

Insall was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) for services to conservation. Subsequently, he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the Queen's

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

. In recognition of his conservation work in Chester, Insall received the honorary freedom of the City of Chester in 1999. He has also received

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Italian for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant inte ...

's Medal of Honour. Insall was awarded the honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws from the

in 2004 and Doctor of Architecture from the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancell ...

in 2012.

Personal life

Insall lives on Kew Green in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, south west London. He and his wife Libby have two sons and one daughter. His elder son, Robert Insall, is a Professor of cell biology at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Publications

* ''The Care of Old Buildings'', report (1957) *''Chester: A Study in Conservation'' (1968) * ''The Care of Old Buildings Today: A Practical Guide'' (Architectural Press, 1972) * ''Living Buildings: Architectural Conservation, Philosophy, Principles and Practice'' (Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd, 2008 and 2018)

Selected projects

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

restoration following the 1992 Windsor Castle fire * Battle of Britain Monument in London * Palace of Westminster *

Cross Bath The Cross Bath in Bath Street, Bath, Somerset, England is a historic pool for bathing. The surrounding structure of the pool was built, in the style of Robert Adam by Thomas Baldwin by 1784 and remodelled by John Palmer in 1789. It is recorded i ...

, Bath, Somerset, refurbished in the 1990s * Somerset House *

Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare is a small garden folly erected in 1756 on the north bank of the River Thames at Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Grade I listed, it was built by the actor David Garrick to honour the ...

Plumpton Place Plumpton Place is a Grade II* listed Elizabethan manor house in Plumpton, East Sussex, England. Description Plumpton Place looks onto the nearby north-facing escarpment of the South Downs, with Plumpton College (formerly Plumpton Agricultural Co ...

Wotton House Wotton House, Wotton Underwood, Buckinghamshire, England, is a stately home built between 1704 and 1714, to a design very similar to that of the contemporary version of Buckingham House. The house is an example of English Baroque and a Grade I ...

* Chester Conservation Plan *

Market Hall, Monmouth The Market Hall, in Priory Street, Monmouth, Wales, is an early Victorian building by the prolific Monmouth architect George Vaughan Maddox. It was constructed in the years 1837–39 as the centrepiece of a redevelopment of part of Monmouth town ...

– a new flat roof for the single storey building, together with a

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

metal and glass facade at the rear, overlooking the

River Monnow The River Monnow ( cy, Afon Mynwy) marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of ...

, in 1968–69 Newman, John. ''The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire'', Penguin Books, 2000, , pp.405–406 *

Kedleston Hall Kedleston Hall is a neo-classical manor house, and seat of the Curzon family, located in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Derby. The medieval village of Kedleston was moved in 1759 by Nathaniel Curzon to mak ...

Kelmscott Manor Kelmscott Manor is a limestone manor house in the Cotswolds village of Kelmscott, in West Oxfordshire, southern England. It dates from around 1570, with a late 17th-century wing, and is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for Engla ...

Chevening, Kent Chevening () is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It was the location for the world's earliest known organised cricket match. The parish is located to the north west of Sevenoaks on the southern slopes of th ...

* Goldsmiths' Hall, London *

Mansion House, London Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. It is a Grade I listed building. Designed by George Dance in the Palladian style, it was built primarily in the 1740s. The Mansion House is used for some of the City of Lo ...

* Somerset House, London * The Holme, Regents Park, London * The Vyne, Hants * Croft Castle, Herefordshire * Berrington Hall, Herefordshire * Speke Hall, Liverpool *

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

paving, London * Queen Mother Memorial, The Mall, London

References

External links

Donald Insall Associates 50th Anniversary NewsletterInterview with InsallDonald Insall Associates website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Insall, Donald 1926 births Living people Architects from Bristol Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservation architects Knights Bachelor People from Kew, London Writers from Bristol People associated with the University of Chester People educated at Bristol Grammar School People associated with the University of Bristol