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 his death in a statement.

Insall was one of the UK's leading conservationists. His studio described him as a "pioneering conservationist" who drew a sharp line between preservation and his own craft.

"Preservation he said is 'what you do for marmalade'," Donald Insall Associates said in a statement. "In the case of buildings, this means keeping them in their original state for posterity."

Conservation, by contrast, meant keeping buildings alive. "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.

What did Insall actually build and save?

His project list reads as a map of British heritage. Insall worked on the 18th-century baroque Wotton House in Buckinghamshire, saved from demolition in 1957. He renovated William Morris's Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire and led the conservation of Chester's historic city centre. After fire devastated Windsor Castle, the royal residence in Berkshire, in 1992, Insall led the teams that restored the building.

Born in Bristol on 7 February 1926, Insall founded Donald Insall Associates in 1958 with Peter Locke. He served as its chairman until 1998. The practice grew out of early training in country-house work at London practice Phillimore and Jenkins, following studies that began in 1942 at the Royal West of England Academy School of Architecture and continued in civic design at the Royal Academy Schools and the School of Planning in London.

The Chester study, which involved visiting more than four hundred buildings in the city, changed how England protects its built heritage. It led to the creation of conservation officers by local councils across England. Insall was also a founding commissioner of the English Heritage charity.

How did he approach old buildings?

Insall's method started with empathy. He believed the best results in conserving historic buildings came when architects tried to "make friends" with them.

"I think that as a result of our experience over the years, we have developed a method that we feel is a wise one," he said. "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."

"We prepare a life story of the building, and from there we assess the building's positive aspects," Insall continued. "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."

What recognition did he receive?

King Charles, in a foreword to the 2018 reprint of Insall's book Living Buildings (first printed in 2008), credited him with lasting influence beyond his own projects. The King wrote that Insall had been "deeply involved, not just as a tireless practitioner, but in mentoring and inspiring others" in the realm of heritage and architectural conservation.

Donald Insall Associates continues the work. Recent projects from the studio include the renovation of a Grade II-listed Oxford college library and the renovation of the "deconstructed" Hardwick Old Hall ruin in Derbyshire. The practice's ongoing commissions suggest the founder's central argument, that old buildings earn their keep through use rather than glass-case preservation, will keep shaping British conservation.