John Metcalf

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.

1 Audiobook

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 ...

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

About the author

Born in Knaresborough in 1717, John Metcalf was blinded by smallpox when he was young. Rather than retreat from public life, he became known locally for his independence, sharp memory, and remarkable ability to travel, work, and judge distances without sight.

He is best remembered as "Blind Jack of Knaresborough," an early professional road builder who worked in northern England during the 18th century. He laid out and built roads and bridges at a time when better transport links were becoming increasingly important, and his practical skill earned him a lasting place in British engineering history.

Metcalf's story has endured not only because of the roads he built, but because of the force of character behind them. He died in 1810, leaving a reputation for toughness, ingenuity, and an almost unbelievable command of landscape and movement.