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.

Early life

Insall was born on 7 February 1926 in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, where he attended

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowe ...

. 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 of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. He then studied at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

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 an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

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 Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...

. During 1958 he founded architectural conservation practice Donald Insall Associates, 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. Donald Insall Associates 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, 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

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

'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 The University of Chester is a public university located in Chester, England. The university originated as the first purpose-built teacher training college in the UK. As a university, it now occupies five campuses, campus sites in and around Ch ...

in 2012.

Personal life

Insall lives on

Kew Green Kew Green is a large open space in Kew in west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames. It is roughly triangular in shape, and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to abo ...

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 ...

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

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. He is a life member of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

which he joined in 1949.''The Photographic Journal'', June 1949, p. 148.

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 List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

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

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

* Cross Bath,

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, refurbished in the 1990s *

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

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 pl ...

* Plumpton Place *

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 Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Conservation Plan * Market Hall, Monmouth – a new flat roof for the single storey building, together with a

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

metal and glass facade at the rear, overlooking the

River Monnow The River Monnow () 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 Monmouth. The ...

, 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 owned by the National Trust, and seat of the :Curzon family, Curzon family, located near Kedleston in Derbyshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Derby. The medieval village ...

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 Eng ...

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 o ...

Goldsmiths' Hall Goldsmiths' Hall is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed building at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street in the City of London. It has served as an assay office and the headquarters of London's goldsmith gu ...

, London *

Mansion House, London The 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 o ...

, London *

The Holme The Holme (Saxon: "river island") is a mansion located on Inner Circle by Regent's Park in the City of Westminster, London, England. It was designed by Decimus Burton, as a residence for the Burton family, and built in 1818, by the company of Ja ...

Regents Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically between Marylebone and ...

, London *

The Vyne The Vyne is a Grade I listed 16th-century country house in the parish of Sherborne St John, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire, England. The house was first built ''circa'' 1500–10 in the Tudor style by William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys, Lord Chamb ...

, Hampshire *

Croft Castle Croft Castle is a English country house, country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before bei ...

, Herefordshire *

Berrington Hall Berrington Hall is a country house located about north of Leominster, Herefordshire, England. During the 20th century it was the seat of the Cawley family. It is a neoclassical country house building that Henry Holland designed in 1778-81 ...

, Herefordshire *

Speke Hall Speke Hall is a wood-framed wattle-and-daub Tudor manor house in Speke, Liverpool, England. It is one of the finest surviving examples of its kind. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed building. History Construction o ...

, Liverpool *

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

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