Donald Insall

Sir Donald Insall
CBE
Born7 February 1926
Bristol, England
Died10 October 2026(2026-10-10) (aged 100)
Education
Occupations
SpouseLibby
Children3 including Robert Insall

Sir Donald William Insall CBE (7 February 1926 – 10 October 2026) was a British architect, conservationist and author who has been described as "one of the leading conservation architects of his generation". He was the founder of architectural, conservation and architectural consultancy practice Donald Insall Associates.

Early life and education

Insall was born on 7 February 1926 in Bristol, where he attended Bristol Grammar School. He served in the Coldstream Guards during the Second World War and qualified in architecture at the Royal West of England Academy School of Architecture, now part of the University of Bristol. He then studied at the Royal Academy and its School of Planning.

Career

Insall worked with 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 of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. In 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 Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1950.

He was appointed the City of Chester's conservation consultant in 1960, a post he held until 1978.

Donald Insall Associates continues its specialised work in conservation, historic consultancy, adaptive reuse and new buildings in sensitive sites. Insall ran the practice until his retirement in 1998 and continued to be active as a consultant.

Personal life and death

Insall lived on Kew Green in Kew, southwest London. He and his wife, Libby, had two sons and one daughter. His elder son, Robert Insall, is professor of computational cell biology at University College London and a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He was a life member of the Royal Photographic Society, which he joined in 1949.

Insall celebrated his 100th birthday on 7 February 2026 and died in London on 10 October 2026.

Honours

In the 1981 Birthday Honours, Insall was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the 1995 New Year Honours, he was promoted to Commander of the Order (CBE) for services to conservation. Subsequently, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the Queen's 2010 Birthday Honours.

In recognition of his conservation work in Chester, Insall received the honorary freedom of the City of Chester in 1999. He also received Europa Nostra's Medal of Honour.

Insall was awarded the honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws from the University of Bristol in 2004 and Doctor of Architecture from the University of Chester in 2012.

Publications

Selected projects

References

  1. ↑ "Queen's Birthday Honours List 2010" (Press release). Cabinet Office. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Chester architect Donald Insall knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours". Chester Chronicle. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Horton, Mark (18 February 2004). "Donald Insall: Doctor of Laws". Public and Ceremonial Events Office. University of Bristol. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Slessor, Catherine (21 October 2026). "Sir Donald Insall obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Insall, Donald (March 2013). "Peter Locke, FRIBA, FSA, 1929–2012". RIBA Journal. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sir Donald Insall CBE FRTIBA – Doctor of Architecture honoris causa, of the University of Chester". Honorary Graduates 2012. University of Chester. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  7. ↑ Richardson, Viel. "History Man; Sir Donald Insall". Marylebone Journal. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 Fleming, Christine (20 June 2010). "OBEs, CBEs, and knighthoods all round as Richmond residents make it on to Queen's Birthday Honours list". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "Couple have become fellows". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  10. ↑ The Photographic Journal, June 1949, p. 148.
  11. ↑ "Sir Donald Insall celebrates his 100th birthday". Donald Insall Associates. 7 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  12. ↑ "Donald Insall Associates Mourns the Passing of Founder Sir Donald Insall (1926–2026)". Donald Insall Associates. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "No. 48639". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1981. p. 10.
  14. ↑ "Honours and Awards: Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood". London Gazette (59881): 15670. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  15. ↑ Youde, Kate (8 July 2022). "ScottWhitbyStudio to revamp listed Church of England offices". Architects' Journal.
  16. ↑ Newman, John. The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire, Penguin Books, 2000, ISBN 0-14-071053-1, pp.405–406