Harrogate man's mission to give 'forgotten' Knaresborough hero the place in history he deserves
A key figure in efforts to win long-overdue recognition for an extraordinary Knaresborough legend often overlooked by historians has been featured on a BBC show.
Harrogate man Bernard Higgins has been pushing the cause of “Blind Jack" John Metcalf for more than a decade.
A pioneering blind road builder in the early days of Britain’s industrial revolution, “Blind Jack” has yet to be granted the status afforded the likes of Telford and McAdam.
But, after years of great work by Mr Higgins championing the life of a man who was born in Knaresborough and lived from 1717 to 1810, recognition is now growing.
In 2017, with Mr Higgins a leading presence on the Blind Jack of Knaresborough Tri-centennial Anniversary Committee, Harrogate Borough Council named a stretch of the town’s A658 southern bypass ‘John Metcalf Way’.
Last weekend saw him appear on BBC Radio York as part of its Secret History programme to spread the word further.
"Andy Grinter, secretary of Knaresborough Civic Society, contacted me in early October to advise me he had been approached by BBC Radio York to see if they could help them to feature Blind Jack in the ‘Secret North’ radio series,” said Bernard.
"Then presenter Freya Cox accepted an invitation from Andy to come over to Knaresborough to catch the free walking tour and meet up.
"With all his faults and eccentricities, John Metcalf is one of the great men of Yorkshire and English history.
"He played an import role in the development of our highways and the roads he built had a significant impact helping move people, goods and services around the North of England in a much quicker and safer fashion at a time when the Industrial Revolution was taking off."
Listeners on BBC Radio York not only heard about “Blind Jack" the great road builder but also his life as an adventurer, despite his disability.
At the age of six, he was left totally blind following an attack of smallpox.
During his lifetime, when not building roads, Metcalf developed a reputation as a musician, drinker, gambler, huntsman, horse dealer, trader and smuggler.