Eleanor Graves

About Eleanor

Eleanor's path to construction was unconventional. After reading History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, she spent two years working for English Heritage (now Historic England) before completing an MSc in Building Conservation at the University of Bath — one of the UK's most respected programmes in the field.

She then spent eight years with Donald Insall Associates, the architecture and conservation practice founded by Sir Donald Insall, working on projects including the restoration of a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house in Suffolk and the conversion of a medieval tithe barn in Oxfordshire. This experience gave her an encyclopaedic knowledge of traditional building materials and techniques.

Eleanor joined Hartwell & Stone in 2019 to establish a dedicated heritage division. Under her leadership, the team has completed the LABC award-winning Georgian restoration in Chelmsford, the chapel conversion in Rayleigh, the grain store conversion in Writtle, and the Victorian maltings conversion in Maldon. She is a Fellow of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), an Affiliate of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), and a regular speaker at heritage building conferences.