Donald Insall, Architect Who Restored Windsor Castle, Dies at 100

Architect Donald Insall, who led the restoration of Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire, has died at the age of 100. His studio, Donald Insall Associates, announced the death in a statement.

Insall was best known for conservation work across England. His studio described him as a "pioneering conservationist" who drew a sharp line between his craft and simple preservation. "Preservation he said is 'what you do for marmalade'," the studio said in its statement. "In the case of buildings, this means keeping them in their original state for posterity."

Insall wanted old buildings to keep working. "Conservation means working with old buildings, streets and towns in ways that allow them to live on usefully and delightfully for new uses when and where appropriate and for future generations," his studio said.

Who was Donald Insall?

Born in Bristol on 7 February 1926, Insall began his architectural studies in 1942 at the Royal West of England Academy School of Architecture. He went on to study civic design at the Royal Academy Schools and later at the School of Planning in London. His first job was with the London practice Phillimore and Jenkins, which restored and designed country houses.

In 1958 he founded his own studio with Peter Locke. Insall served as its chairman until 1998. The practice's early milestones include:

• The rescue of the 18th-century baroque Wotton House in Buckinghamshire, saved from demolition in 1957.
• The renovation of William Morris's Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire.
• The conservation of the historic city centre of Chester.

The Chester study was pivotal. Insall's team visited more than four hundred buildings in the city. The survey led local councils across England to create conservation officers, a post that still shapes how the country protects its built heritage.

Insall was also a founding commissioner of English Heritage, the charity he helped create.

What happened at Windsor Castle?

Fire devastated Windsor Castle, the royal residence in Berkshire, in 1992. Insall led the teams that restored the building. The project stands as the most visible proof of his method: repair the old so it can serve the future, not freeze it.

His reach extended to the royal family itself. His book Living Buildings, first printed in 2008, was reprinted in 2018 with a foreword by King Charles, then Prince of Wales. The King wrote that Insall had been "deeply involved, not just as a tireless practitioner, but in mentoring and inspiring others" in heritage and architectural conservation.

What does his method leave behind?

Insall argued that the best conservation work begins with affection. "I think that as a result of our experience over the years", he said, "we have developed a method that we feel is a wise one. We always try to make friends with the building itself, but also with its current users, so that both their respective needs can be met."

The approach was documentary before it was architectural. "We prepare a life story of the building, and from there we assess the building's positive aspects," Insall said. "We also take a look at its less successful features and see how these can be helped. However, the important thing is to take a positive approach to the project."

Donald Insall Associates continues the work. Recent projects include the renovation of a Grade II-listed Oxford college library and the renovation of the "deconstructed" Hardwick Old Hall ruin. The practice Insall built over forty years as chairman now carries his method into every listed building it touches, from Oxford libraries to Derbyshire ruins.

By Marcus Bennett