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- The life of John Metcalf, commonly called Blind Jack of Knaresborough with ... anecdotes of his exploits in hunting, card-playing, &c., some particulars relative to the expedition against the rebels in 1745 ...; and also a succinct account of his various contracts for making roads, erecting bridges ... in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire ...
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The life of John Metcalf, commonly called Blind Jack of Knaresborough with ... anecdotes of his exploits in hunting, card-playing, &c., some particulars relative to the expedition against the rebels in 1745 ...; and also a succinct account of his various contracts for making roads, erecting bridges ... in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire ...
by John Metcalf
Chapters
1 totalThe cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
Description
Born in Knaresborough in 1717, John Metcalf lost his sight as a small‑pox victim at four yet quickly learned to navigate his town unaided. He spent his youth climbing trees to fetch bird nests, hunting with friends, and mastering card games, proving that blindness did not dim his appetite for adventure. The early chapters paint a vivid picture of a boy who turned obstacles into opportunities, showing how his confidence grew with each daring exploit.
As an adult, Metcalf earned a reputation as a road‑builder whose practical genius reshaped the landscape of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire and Cheshire. He recounts his part in the 1745 Jacobite expedition, his contracts for bridges and highways, and the colorful anecdotes that made him a local legend. The narrative, drawn from Metcalf’s own recollections, offers a straightforward, dialect‑tinged voice that brings his extraordinary life to listeners with both humor and respect.
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Full title
The life of John Metcalf, commonly called Blind Jack of Knaresborough with ... anecdotes of his exploits in hunting, card-playing, &c., some particulars relative to the expedition against the rebels in 1745 ...; and also a succinct account of his various contracts for making roads, erecting bridges ... in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire ... with ... anecdotes of his exploits in hunting, card-playing, &c., some particulars relative to the expedition against the rebels in 1745 ...; and also a succinct account of his various contracts for making roads, erecting bridges ... in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire ...
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (156K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United Kingdom: E. & R. Peck, 1795.
Credits
deaurider, Brian Wilsden and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2022-12-20
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
About the author
John Metcalf
1717–1810
A legendary Yorkshire road builder known as Blind Jack of Knaresborough, he lost his sight as a child and still became one of the great practical engineers of his age. His life mixed grit, invention, and a gift for navigating the world on his own terms.
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