Inchbald: The Way In: Celebrating over 60 years of Interior and Garden Design Education

Jacqueline Duncan founded the Inchbald School of Interior Design in 1960, and the Inchbald School of Garden Design in 1972. War-time experiences as a young evacuee living in grand English country houses kindled her fascination with buildings and gardens before she met and married Michael Inchbald, a leading interior decorator. Britain had no equivalent of the Parsons School of Design in the USA, so Jacqueline Duncan became determined to establish a school in London. An important component of Inchbald courses is interior design history, which Jacqueline Duncan outlines, explaining how the profession developed out of associated trades and gift ed amateurism. Many distinguished interior designers and garden designers are Inchbald graduates. Examples of their work are included in an appendix.

Jacqueline Duncan is a committed design educator. A Fellow of the International Interior Designers Association and recipient of an Award of Merit from the British Institute of Interior Design, she was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to design education. Her public service has included membership of the Monopolies Commission, the Copyright Committee, four years on Westminster City Council, and twenty years as a magistrate. A regular commentator in the press, Jacqueline Duncan has published three books on interior design.