Key 300th anniversary of iconic Knaresborough figure who was 'one of the greatest Englishmen who ever lived"

The larger than life Jack Metcalf was six-years-old on August 15, 1723, the year in which small pox visited Knaresborough when young Jack – along with many others – was smitten by this dreaded disease.

Despite fighting off the disease, the young boy was left blind.

But, such was his character, intelligence and all-round skills, this historic son of Knaresborough went on to live a life less ordinary – becoming a pioneering 18th century road-builder, a famous fiddle player in pubs and joining Cumberland’s army during Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.

Harrogate man Bernard Higgins, who has been a long-time campaigner for giving Jack Metcalf the credit and fame he deserves, says Knaresborough’s overlooked historic figure merits a reputation as big as fellow road builders from the early Industrial Revolution such as Thomas Telford and John McAdam

"Jack Metcalf was a truly remarkable figure,” said the retired teacher.

"Viscount Snowden, who was Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 30’s, was quoted in his biography as saying “This road was made by one of the greatest Englishmen who ever lived, John Metcalf, the famous “Blind Jack of Knaresborough.”

"The late Knaresborough historian Arnold Kellett wrote that, when he had small pox at the age of six, about six months after recovering, he was able to walk on his own from his family cottage next to St John the Baptist Church in Church Lane/Vicarage Lane, to the end of the street which lead to the bottom of High Street.”

Thanks to local campaigners such as Bernard, recognition for Jack Metcalf’s achievements has started to come – an appearance in BBC Antiques Road Trip in 2021, the naming in 2017 of a stretch of the A658 southern bypass between the A61 and the Kestral Roundabout in Harrogate as the John Metcalf Way, the restoration in the same year of his famous fiddle which can now be seen in the Old Courthouse Museum in Knaresborough Castle grounds.

That fiddle is shortly to be played on a BBC Radio 4 show by renowned orchestra leader Adam SummerHayes.

Supporters of Jack Metcalf are now hoping to find a home for a more recent ‘Blind Jack artefact.

The miniature Blind Jack statue was produced by sculptor Barbara Asquith, as she created the finished version of the full size statue in Knaresborough's market place.

Bernard Higgins said: "The owners of the minature statue of Jack wants to find a suitable location in Knaresborough where it can be seen and enjoyed.

"They have already approached the Old Courthouse Museum but I believe they have been advised there is no room for it.

"One suggestion is St John the Baptist Church in Knaresborough which is next to where John Metcalf was born in his parents cottage on 15th August 1717.”

In his lifetime, Blind Jack was responsible for the construction of around 180 miles of road in the north of England.

The question campaigners ask is, when will Jack Metcalf be recognised in a documentary, TV series or big budget movie, even?