A Practical Visionary: The Life and Legacy of William Halfpenny William Halfpenny, a name perhaps less celebrated than his architectural contemporaries like Colen Campbell or James Gibbs, nevertheless occupies a vital position in the history of 18th-century British design. Active between roughly 1723 and 1755, Halfpenny wasn’t a builder of grand estates or imposing public structures; instead, he was a prolific author and disseminator of architectural knowledge, democratizing design through his meticulously illustrated pattern books. Describing himself as an “architect and carpenter,” he brid…