John Metcalf

John Metcalf (15 August 1717 – 26 April 1810), known as Blind Jack of Knaresborough or Blind Jack Metcalf, was the first professional road builder to emerge during the Industrial Revolution. Blind from the age of six, Metcalf had an eventful life, which was documented by his own account just before his death. He was an accomplished diver, swimmer, card player and fiddler, but was better known for the period between 1765 and 1792 when he built about of turnpike road, mainly in the north of England and as such, he became known as one of the fathers of the modern road. His work on the roads in the north has been commemorated in a pub named after him, a statue in Knaresborough town centre and part of the A658 in Harrogate being named John Metcalf Way. Early life Metcalf was born into a poor family in Knaresborough in Yorkshire, England on 15 August 1717. His father was a horse breeder. At the age of six John lost his sight after a smallpox infection; he was given fiddle lessons as a way of making provision for him to earn a living later in life. He became an accomplished fiddler and made it his livelihood in his early adult years. In 1732, aged 15, Metcalf succeeded Morrison as fiddler at the Queen's Head, a tavern in Harrogate. Morrison had played there for 70 years. Metcalf had an affinity for horses and added to his living with horse trading. Though blind, he took up swimming and diving, fighting cocks, playing cards, riding and even hunting. He knew his local area so well he was paid to work as a guide to visitors. When he was 20, Metcalf met Dorothy Benson, the daughter of the landlord of the Granby Inn in Harrogate. When he was aged 21 he met another woman and made her pregnant; Dorothy begged him not to marry her and Jack fled. He spent some time living at places on the North Sea coast between Newcastle and London, and lodged with his aunt in Whitby. He continued to work as a fiddler. When he heard Dorothy was to be married to a shoemaker, he returned and they fled so they could get married in secret. They married and had four children. Dorothy died in 1778.