Tim Knox Named New Patron of Bedford Park Society
Replacing Sir Donald Insall who has served in the role for 24 years
Tim Knox. Picture: Bedford Park Society
September 27, 2025
The Bedford Park Society has appointed Tim Knox, CVO FSA, as its new Patron, following the retirement of Sir Donald Insall CBE after 24 years in the role.
Mr Knox currently serves as Director of The Royal Collection, a position he has held since 2018. In this capacity, he oversees the department of the Royal Household responsible for the care and presentation of the British Royal Family’s art collections. His appointment to the Society comes after decades of work in architectural conservation and museum leadership.
His previous roles include serving as Architectural Historian at the National Trust, Director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum, and Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. During his tenure at these institutions, Knox was involved in significant restoration projects, including the conservation of Sir John Soane’s Museum. He is also a Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and Patron of the Mausolea & Monuments Trust. Earlier this year, he was recognised in the Birthday Honours with a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).
In a statement, Mr Knox expressed his enthusiasm for the new role, saying he was “pleased and proud to assist in some small way with the preservation of Bedford Park and in making its architecture and social significance better known.”
His appointment follows the long-standing patronage of Sir Donald Insall, a prominent conservation architect whose practice has contributed to major restoration projects at Windsor Castle, the Palace of Westminster, the Tower of London, and Kew Gardens. The Society acknowledged Sir Donald’s contributions, noting his strategic guidance and expertise in listed building issues over more than two decades.
Sir Donald Insall
The Bedford Park Society continues its work in preserving and promoting the architectural heritage of Bedford Park, often cited as the first garden suburb. More information about its activities can be found at www.bedfordpark.org.uk.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |