IN MEMORIAM: Sir Donald Insall CBE (1926-2026, United Kingdom)

Europa Nostra has learned with sadness of the passing of our great friend, ally and advocate, Sir Donald Insall, on 10 October 2026, at the age of 100 years and eight months. Donald Insall was a pioneering conservationist, architect, planning consultant, author and teacher; he founded Donald Insall Associates in 1958, one of Britain’s leading conservation practices.

 

He has been well known in our community since our foundation. Ours is a world demanding principled, inspired leadership. It has been cruelly and unfairly said that good designers design, but those who don’t, conserve. Sir Donald broke that prejudice by being a trailblazer in every respect. 

By the age of 30, he was already demonstrating that conservation and design are soulmates, not adversaries, despite the post-war expectation of ‘comprehensive redevelopment’ in which the old was destined to be replaced with the new, whatever the subject. He trained and worked as an architect, setting up his own practice, Donal Insall Associates, in 1958, which is still a leader in the field. But his expertise extended into the multidisciplinary practice of planning and urban development, breaking the mould and convention of parallel professional disciplines.

It was his holistic vision and capacity for rallying all talents that was also inspired by, and contributed to, a post-war Europe of sensitive, creative reconstruction. Europa Nostra was founded five years after Sir Donald founded his practice. Inevitably, as kindred spirits, together, we have walked much the same path. In European Architectural Heritage Year, 1975, and in its 50th anniversary, continuity of that genius loci of Europeanness has prevailed and flourished. His office is adorned with many Europa Nostra Awards, including this year’s for Rochdale Town Hall; our events have enjoyed his towering presence and kindly shared wisdom.

Sir Donald will be an indelible watermark in the storybook of Europa Nostra.

 

List of Europa Nostra Awards won by Donal Insall Associates

1. The Bridgegate Conservation Action Area, Chester – Medal (1983) 
2. Bowland Yard, Belgravia: Sensitive Residential Development in a Typical London Mews’ (1989)
3. Trinity College, Cambridge: ‘Major Restoration Project to the Highest Standards’ (1991)
4. Speke Hall, Liverpool: Restoration of Hall and Recreation of Garden (1993)
5. The Bath Spas: Repair and reinstatement of missing original features (1993)
6. The Mansion House, London: Restoration, repair and alteration (1994)
7. Cockerell Building, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge: Diploma (1997)
8. Windsor Castle: Medal for Post-fire Restoration Work (1999)
9. Donald Insall – Medal of Honour (2000)
10.  Somerset House, London, Phase II – Diploma (2001)
11.  Royal Albert Hall, London – Diploma (2003)
12.  Palace of Westminster Conservation Plan – Medal (2007)
13.  The Grange, Ramsgate (2008)
14.  Wimpole Hall’s Gothic Tower, Wimpole – Grand Prix (2016)
15.  Westminster Hall, London (2024)
16.  The Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse (2025)
17.  Rochdale Town Hall (2026)

 

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Donald Insall Associates Mourns the Passing of Founder Sir Donald Insall