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Gwyn Headley

April 10, 2024

Gwyn Headley (born 1946 in Harlech) is a British historian and writer.

Education and early life edit

As a child Headley lived in Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana); Krumpendorf, Austria; Berlin, Germany; Warsaw, Poland; Westmalle, Belgium and Paris, France before his family settled in Chelsea in 1959. He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, Hertford, Westminster City School, London, and at Saint Martin's School of Art, London.

Living in Chelsea in the 1960s, he formed The Sloane Squares,[1] a beat group which played many venues across the capital, supporting John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, the Small Faces, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton and others. Lead singer Pete Gage later became the front man for Dr. Feelgood.

He now lives in London and Harlech.

Business edit

He began work in book publishing in 1967 at George Newnes and started his first consultancy Headley Hesketh Associates in 1976. This evolved into HPR,[2] a publishing and theatre marketing consultancy which promoted several West End hits and had nine No. 1 best-sellers, including The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. In 1991 with Keith Price he launched Pavilions of Splendour Ltd,[3][4][5][6] the first estate agency to deal exclusively in listed buildings,[7] and which in 1993 became the first UK estate agency to have a website. The agency closed after Keith Price died in 2004.

In 2002 HPR was taken over by fotoLibra.[8] the first open access, entirely digital picture library was created by Headley in 2002 and launched in 2004. A digital publishing company within the group, Heritage Ebooks, was launched in 2011 with forty titles.

Mah-Jong edit

Headley is President of the British Mah-Jong Association. With Yvonne Seeley he wrote Know The Game: Mah-Jong [9] in 1977. The book has sold over 500,000 copies and is the standard rule book for the game in Britain and the Commonwealth.

Follies edit

An enthusiast of eccentric architecture since childhood, his first book on follies,[10][11][12] written with Dutch art historian Wim Meulenkamp, was published for the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty by Jonathan Cape in 1986. The publication of the book led to the foundation of the amenity society and charity The Folly Fellowship,[13][14] of which Headley was President.[15] He has since written and co-written five further printed books on the subject, and forty ebooks.[16][17] He describes a folly as 'a misunderstood building', and elaborates on this in an introduction: "Ideally, [a folly] should be a big, Gothick, ostentatious, over-ambitious and useless structure, preferably with a wildly improbable local legend attached – but in real life it must be admitted that follies defy even such broad definitions. That's half the pleasure of the things: if they could be categorised and catalogued and pinned down like specimen butterflies we would lose that frisson of excitement and mystery when another unidentified ghostly grey ruin looms up out of a wet wood. A folly is essentially a misunderstood building, because folly can only lie in the eye of the beholder."

Typography edit

Headley's first essay on typography, Fabulous Fonts, was published by Pomegranate in 2001. Cassell Illustrated published his Encyclopaedia of Fonts in 2005. The author blurb described him as follows: "Gwyn Headley’s comfortably blurred memories of the 1960s include failing to become a rock star (despite playing with Hendrix, Clapton, Pink Floyd, the Small Faces, John Lee Hooker and others) and instead discovering a passion for typography at St. Martin’s School of Art in London’s Charing Cross Road. He has somehow combined a lifetime in publishing with writing books on architecture, follies, fonts and Mah-Jong; selling listed buildings; and founding fotoLibra.com, the world’s first entirely digital picture library. He has spent six months of his life at the Frankfurt Book Fair and to his eternal regret has never scored a try for Llanelli or Wales."

Blogs edit

Headley currently writes two blogs, the fotoLibra Pro BlogfotoLibra Pro Blog, which deals with photography, image sales and digital publishing, and fotoLibrarianFrom Harlech to London, his personal blog which concentrates on his interests, hobbies and opinions. The latter is notable for its typically British self-deprecating autobiography: "Gwyn describes himself as enthusiastic, lazy, persistent, creative, fat, well-educated, pedantic, polite, greedy, gentle, prejudiced, kind, unreliable, well-meaning, curious, shy, gregarious, snobbish, confident, cowardly, optimistic, comfortable, irritable, at ease, nervous, thirsty, tired, willing, competent, unselfconscious, spry, hard-working, querulous, prolix and cheerful. His favourite word is Sharawaggi, he would like his double helix to combine musicality and common sense, he has a huge vocabulary in several languages and no grammar in any. He enjoys drinking, eating, women, reading, writing, urban walking, typefaces, architecture, guitars, rugby, cricket, F1, Wales, London, the USA and Europe. He dislikes ‘features’, ‘slebrities’ and ‘communities’. He describes enjoyment as a two-bottle lunch with an old friend. He is married, with a tortoise, two mogs and a Golden Retriever."

Ffordd Pen Llech edit

In 2019 Headley led the successful campaign to get Ffordd Pen Llech in his hometown of Harlech, North West Wales, recognised by Guinness World Records as [18] the steepest street in the world.

Personal life edit

He married Yvonne Seeley in 2008 at St John's Chapel in the Tower of London.

Books edit

  • Know The Game: Mah-Jong with Yvonne Seeley (1977) originally published by EP Publishing, Wakefield, now by A & C Black, ISBN 978-0-7136-8951-8.
  • Follies: A National Trust Guide with Wim Meulenkamp (1986), Jonathan Cape, ISBN 0-224-02105-2.
  • Follies: A Guide to Rogue Architecture [19] with Wim Meulenkamp (1990), Jonathan Cape, ISBN 0-224-02790-5.
  • Architectural Follies in America[20] (1996), John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-14362-6.
  • London Sight Unseen[21] with Lord Snowdon (1999), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-82490-2.
  • Follies Grottoes and Garden Buildings[22] with Wim Meulenkamp (1999), Aurum Press, ISBN 1-85410-625-2.
  • The Encyclopaedia of Fonts[23](2005), Cassell Illustrated, ISBN 1-84403-206-X.
  • Follies: Fabulous, Fanciful and Frivolous Buildings [24](2012), National Trust, ISBN 978-1-907892-30-1.

Magazines edit

  • Follies: The International Magazine for Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings, Editor, 1987–95.
  • Executive Excellence Europe, Editor, 1996–99.

Knowledge Cards edit

Ebooks edit

Apps edit

  • Aaron's Time Machine: London,[25] with Neil Smith (2010).

References edit

  1. ^ Chaplain's son leads beat group, Chelsea News, 26 March 1965
  2. ^ Warsaw tact, The Bookseller, 21 September 1990
  3. ^ Agency's aim is pure folly, Sunday Times, 8 November 1992
  4. ^ A man who takes folly seriously, The Daily Telegraph, 7 December 1994
  5. ^ … AND THE UGLY, Daily Telegraph, 14 October 1995
  6. ^ Finding fault is his folly, Daily Telegraph, 4 October 1997
  7. ^ Extreme living, Financial Times, 27 July 2008
  8. ^ Khan, Basheera (9 June 2004). . i.t.wales. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012.
  9. ^ Headley, Gwyn (2008). Mah-Jong. London: A & C Black. ISBN 9780713689518.
  10. ^ Headley, Gwyn (1986). Follies: A National Trust Guide. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0224021052.
  11. ^ RIP the great English eccentric, Daily Telegraph, 16 June 1986
  12. ^ Where ignorance is pretty, The Times, 19 June 1986
  13. ^ The glorious folly of a useless tower, The Independent, 17 March 1990
  14. ^ Ostentatious, over-ambitious, useless … and irreplaceable, The Observer, 12 July 1992
  15. ^ Jolly good follies … Evening Standard, 28 February 1989
  16. ^ "A Life of Folly". The Dabbler. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  17. ^ Bloxham, Andy (27 December 2011). "Britain's follies must be saved for posterity, says historian". Retrieved 2 August 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  18. ^ Planet, Lonely. "Welsh town of Harlech wins world's steepest street title". Lonely Planet News. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  19. ^ Headley, Gwyn (1990). Follies: A Guide to Rogue Architecture. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0224027905.
  20. ^ Headley, Gwyn (1996). Architectural Follies in America. New York City: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0471143626.
  21. ^ Headley, Gwyn (1999). London Sight Unseen. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0297824902.
  22. ^ Headley, Gwyn (1999). Follies Grottoes and Garden Buildings. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1854106252.
  23. ^ Headley, Gwyn (2005). The Encyclopaedia of Fonts. London: Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 184403206X.
  24. ^ Headley, Gwyn (2012). Follies: Fabulous, Fanciful and Frivolous Buildings. London: National Trust. ISBN 9781907892301.
  25. ^ "Aaron's Apps". Retrieved 2 August 2019.

External links edit

April 10, 2024
gwyn, headley, born, 1946, harlech, british, historian, writer, contents, education, early, life, business, jong, follies, typography, blogs, ffordd, llech, personal, life, books, magazines, knowledge, cards, ebooks, apps, references, external, linkseducation,. Gwyn Headley born 1946 in Harlech is a British historian and writer Contents 1 Education and early life 2 Business 3 Mah Jong 4 Follies 5 Typography 6 Blogs 7 Ffordd Pen Llech 8 Personal life 9 Books 10 Magazines 11 Knowledge Cards 12 Ebooks 13 Apps 14 References 15 External linksEducation and early life editAs a child Headley lived in Accra Gold Coast now Ghana Krumpendorf Austria Berlin Germany Warsaw Poland Westmalle Belgium and Paris France before his family settled in Chelsea in 1959 He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Hertford Westminster City School London and at Saint Martin s School of Art London Living in Chelsea in the 1960s he formed The Sloane Squares 1 a beat group which played many venues across the capital supporting John Lee Hooker Jimi Hendrix Pink Floyd the Small Faces Eric Clapton Peter Frampton and others Lead singer Pete Gage later became the front man for Dr Feelgood He now lives in London and Harlech Business editHe began work in book publishing in 1967 at George Newnes and started his first consultancy Headley Hesketh Associates in 1976 This evolved into HPR 2 a publishing and theatre marketing consultancy which promoted several West End hits and had nine No 1 best sellers including The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady In 1991 with Keith Price he launched Pavilions of Splendour Ltd 3 4 5 6 the first estate agency to deal exclusively in listed buildings 7 and which in 1993 became the first UK estate agency to have a website The agency closed after Keith Price died in 2004 In 2002 HPR was taken over by fotoLibra 8 the first open access entirely digital picture library was created by Headley in 2002 and launched in 2004 A digital publishing company within the group Heritage Ebooks was launched in 2011 with forty titles Mah Jong editHeadley is President of the British Mah Jong Association With Yvonne Seeley he wrote Know The Game Mah Jong 9 in 1977 The book has sold over 500 000 copies and is the standard rule book for the game in Britain and the Commonwealth Follies editAn enthusiast of eccentric architecture since childhood his first book on follies 10 11 12 written with Dutch art historian Wim Meulenkamp was published for the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty by Jonathan Cape in 1986 The publication of the book led to the foundation of the amenity society and charity The Folly Fellowship 13 14 of which Headley was President 15 He has since written and co written five further printed books on the subject and forty ebooks 16 17 He describes a folly as a misunderstood building and elaborates on this in an introduction Ideally a folly should be a big Gothick ostentatious over ambitious and useless structure preferably with a wildly improbable local legend attached but in real life it must be admitted that follies defy even such broad definitions That s half the pleasure of the things if they could be categorised and catalogued and pinned down like specimen butterflies we would lose that frisson of excitement and mystery when another unidentified ghostly grey ruin looms up out of a wet wood A folly is essentially a misunderstood building because folly can only lie in the eye of the beholder Typography editHeadley s first essay on typography Fabulous Fonts was published by Pomegranate in 2001 Cassell Illustrated published his Encyclopaedia of Fonts in 2005 The author blurb described him as follows Gwyn Headley s comfortably blurred memories of the 1960s include failing to become a rock star despite playing with Hendrix Clapton Pink Floyd the Small Faces John Lee Hooker and others and instead discovering a passion for typography at St Martin s School of Art in London s Charing Cross Road He has somehow combined a lifetime in publishing with writing books on architecture follies fonts and Mah Jong selling listed buildings and founding fotoLibra com the world s first entirely digital picture library He has spent six months of his life at the Frankfurt Book Fair and to his eternal regret has never scored a try for Llanelli or Wales Blogs editHeadley currently writes two blogs the fotoLibra Pro BlogfotoLibra Pro Blog which deals with photography image sales and digital publishing and fotoLibrarianFrom Harlech to London his personal blog which concentrates on his interests hobbies and opinions The latter is notable for its typically British self deprecating autobiography Gwyn describes himself as enthusiastic lazy persistent creative fat well educated pedantic polite greedy gentle prejudiced kind unreliable well meaning curious shy gregarious snobbish confident cowardly optimistic comfortable irritable at ease nervous thirsty tired willing competent unselfconscious spry hard working querulous prolix and cheerful His favourite word is Sharawaggi he would like his double helix to combine musicality and common sense he has a huge vocabulary in several languages and no grammar in any He enjoys drinking eating women reading writing urban walking typefaces architecture guitars rugby cricket F1 Wales London the USA and Europe He dislikes features slebrities and communities He describes enjoyment as a two bottle lunch with an old friend He is married with a tortoise two mogs and a Golden Retriever Ffordd Pen Llech editIn 2019 Headley led the successful campaign to get Ffordd Pen Llech in his hometown of Harlech North West Wales recognised by Guinness World Records as 18 the steepest street in the world Personal life editHe married Yvonne Seeley in 2008 at St John s Chapel in the Tower of London Books editKnow The Game Mah Jong with Yvonne Seeley 1977 originally published by EP Publishing Wakefield now by A amp C Black ISBN 978 0 7136 8951 8 Follies A National Trust Guide with Wim Meulenkamp 1986 Jonathan Cape ISBN 0 224 02105 2 Follies A Guide to Rogue Architecture 19 with Wim Meulenkamp 1990 Jonathan Cape ISBN 0 224 02790 5 Architectural Follies in America 20 1996 John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 0 471 14362 6 London Sight Unseen 21 with Lord Snowdon 1999 Weidenfeld amp Nicolson ISBN 0 297 82490 2 Follies Grottoes and Garden Buildings 22 with Wim Meulenkamp 1999 Aurum Press ISBN 1 85410 625 2 The Encyclopaedia of Fonts 23 2005 Cassell Illustrated ISBN 1 84403 206 X Follies Fabulous Fanciful and Frivolous Buildings 24 2012 National Trust ISBN 978 1 907892 30 1 Magazines editFollies The International Magazine for Follies Grottoes and Garden Buildings Editor 1987 95 Executive Excellence Europe Editor 1996 99 Knowledge Cards editAn Architectural Vocabulary 2000 Pomegranate ISBN 0 7649 1120 1 Fabulous Fonts 2001 Pomegranate ISBN 0 7649 1749 8 What Happened Here England 2002 Pomegranate ISBN 0 7649 2796 5 Cockney Rhyming Slang 2003 Pomegranate ISBN 978 0 7649 2138 4 What Happened Here London 2004 Pomegranate ISBN 978 0 7649 2381 4 Ebooks edit Follies of Bath Bristol amp Avon 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 01 3 Follies of Bedfordshire amp Cambridgeshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 02 0 Follies of Berkshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 03 7 Follies of Buckinghamshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 04 4 Follies of Cheshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 05 1 Follies of Cornwall 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 00 6 Follies of Derbyshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 07 5 Follies of Cumbria 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 06 8 Follies of Devon 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 08 2 Follies of Dorset 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 09 9 Follies of County Durham 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 10 5 Follies of East Sussex 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 11 2 Follies of Essex 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 12 9 Follies of Gloucestershire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 13 6 Follies of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 14 3 Follies of Herefordshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 15 0 Follies of Hertfordshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 16 7 Follies of Kent 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 17 4 Follies of Lancashire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 18 1 Follies of Leicestershire amp Rutland 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 19 8 Follies of Lincolnshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 20 4 Follies of Liverpool and Manchester 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 21 1 Follies of London 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 22 8 Follies of Norfolk 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 23 5 Follies of North amp East Yorkshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 24 2 Follies of Northamptonshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 25 9 Follies of Northumberland 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 26 6 Follies of Nottinghamshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 27 3 Follies of Oxfordshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 28 0 Follies of Shropshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 29 7 Follies of Somerset 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 30 3 Follies of South Yorkshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 31 0 Follies of Staffordshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 32 7 Follies of Suffolk 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 33 4 Follies of Surrey 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 34 1 Follies of Warwickshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 35 8 Follies of West Sussex 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 36 5 Follies of West Yorkshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 37 2 Follies of Wiltshire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 38 9 Follies of Worcestershire 2010 Heritage Ebooks ISBN 978 1 908619 39 6Apps editAaron s Time Machine London 25 with Neil Smith 2010 References edit Chaplain s son leads beat group Chelsea News 26 March 1965 Warsaw tact The Bookseller 21 September 1990 Agency s aim is pure folly Sunday Times 8 November 1992 A man who takes folly seriously The Daily Telegraph 7 December 1994 AND THE UGLY Daily Telegraph 14 October 1995 Finding fault is his folly Daily Telegraph 4 October 1997 Extreme living Financial Times 27 July 2008 Khan Basheera 9 June 2004 fotoLibra gets it picture perfect i t wales Archived from the original on 6 February 2012 Headley Gwyn 2008 Mah Jong London A amp C Black ISBN 9780713689518 Headley Gwyn 1986 Follies A National Trust Guide London Jonathan Cape ISBN 0224021052 RIP the great English eccentric Daily Telegraph 16 June 1986 Where ignorance is pretty The Times 19 June 1986 The glorious folly of a useless tower The Independent 17 March 1990 Ostentatious over ambitious useless and irreplaceable The Observer 12 July 1992 Jolly good follies Evening Standard 28 February 1989 A Life of Folly The Dabbler 8 November 2011 Retrieved 2 August 2019 Bloxham Andy 27 December 2011 Britain s follies must be saved for posterity says historian Retrieved 2 August 2019 via www telegraph co uk Planet Lonely Welsh town of Harlech wins world s steepest street title Lonely Planet News Retrieved 2 August 2019 Headley Gwyn 1990 Follies A Guide to Rogue Architecture London Jonathan Cape ISBN 0224027905 Headley Gwyn 1996 Architectural Follies in America New York City John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 0471143626 Headley Gwyn 1999 London Sight Unseen London Weidenfeld amp Nicolson ISBN 0297824902 Headley Gwyn 1999 Follies Grottoes and Garden Buildings London Aurum Press ISBN 1854106252 Headley Gwyn 2005 The Encyclopaedia of Fonts London Cassell Illustrated ISBN 184403206X Headley Gwyn 2012 Follies Fabulous Fanciful and Frivolous Buildings London National Trust ISBN 9781907892301 Aaron s Apps Retrieved 2 August 2019 External links editfotoLibra com Archived 15 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Heritage Ebooks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gwyn Headley amp oldid 1156644610, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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