THERE aren't many secrets left to tell about a town with a history as rich as Knaresborough's, admits local historian Paul Chrystal.

For a book entitled Secret Knaresborough, that promises to be a problem.

Paul, however - who once ran the Knaresborough Bookshop - has done a good job of unearthing 'lesser-known' facts about the town.

These, he hopes, will provide a complement to the existing histories of the town.

The book takes the form of a "journey through Knaresborough, including the school, the castle, the marketplace, the high street and the river with its tourism and industry."

There are chapters on Knaresborough's frequent brushes with royalty and the town's many colourful characters. And, as with all of Paul's books, Secret Knaresborough is lavishly illustrated with photographs, drawings and paintings both new and old - Paul is an enthusiastic collector of old photographs and postcards.

So how has he done at unearthing some of Knaresborough's 'lesser-known' facts?

Judge for yourselves. Here are a few snippets from his book:

Blind Jack. This was the nickname of John Metcalf, born in 1717 in a cottage near the parish church. At the age of six he was afflicted by smallpox, which left him completely blind.

But he was an intelligent, energetic boy, Paul writes. "He led an active life tree-climbing, swimming, hunting and gambling. At fifteen, he was appointed fiddler at the Queen's Head in High Harrogate.

Later, he earned money as a guide (especially at night-time), eloped with Dolly Benson, daughter of the landlord of the Royal Oak (later the Granby) and, in 1745, marched as a musician to Scotland, leading Capt Thornton's 'Yorkshire Blues' to fight Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebels."

Quite a character, clearly. He's best known today for his work as a pioneer of road-building, Paul writes. He and his gang of workmen completed about 180 miles of road in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire - including a bridge over the Starbeck on the road from Knaresborough to Harrogate. Today, a bronze statue of Jack created by Barbara Asquith sits on a seat in Knaresborough's marketplace.

Lord Knaresborough. Henry Meysey-Thompson was a Victorian politician and one-time private secretary to Gladstone who served as Conservative MP for Knaresborough from 1880. He was made a peer in 1906, and announced he would take Lord Knaresborough as his title.

There was an immediate outcry, Paul writes - Meysey-Thompson had been unseated following a Conservative petition alleging bribery by the Liberals. The chairman of Knaresborough Urban District Council appealed in vain for Meysey-Thompson not to use the titles, as "he had no family connection with the town".

The River Nidd. The rapids have often provided a challenge and an adventure for boaters - as a couple of wonderful old photographs from Paul's book demonstrate. Sadly, there is no date for them - but judging by the clothes worn by those in the boats, they look as though they could date from the 1930s.

The river's name comes from a Celtic word meaning 'bright' or 'shining', Paul writes. It has always been essential to Knaresborough's economy, as a means of transport, a source of fish, and a provider of power for water mills.

In 1818, Paul writes, it supplied power for 48 mills in total - seven lead mills, one cotton mill, 18 flax mills and 22 corn mills. It has also provided a source of water and - until Victorian times - was used to dump sewage.

It has frozen over several times, including in 1916, 1929, 1940, 1943 and 1947. Paul's book includes a wonderful photo of the 1947 freeze, showing figures skating on the river as a train thunders over the viaduct above.

• Gracious Street. There are several places of worship - United Reformed, Quaker, Methodist and Anglican - on Gracious Street. Many assume this is where it gets its name from, writes Paul.

The truth is rather different. "The name ... is derived from Anglo-Saxon gracht hus (literally ditch houses), and refers to houses built on the town's main ditch, or defensive moat - which became an open sewer. This ran along what is now Gracious Street..."

Boxing. In the 1930s, usually on Monday evenings, boxing bouts were held in a ring behind the Elephant & Castle in High Street, Paul writes. "The Knaresborough boxer, Leslie 'Dot' Fowler, was well-known throughout northern England; he later ran a barber's shop at the bottom of the High Street."

Knaresborough Castle. Much has been written about this - including about the siege in 1644. Royalists loyal to King Charles 1 holed up in the castle when Cromwell's forces advanced on it after the Battle of Marston Moor. After a siege lasting several weeks, which saw dozens of men killed on each side, the garrison surrendered, after being promised their 'life and liberty'.

What you may not know, however, is that the castle was built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon fortified settlement or burg, strategically placed on a cliff towering over the River Nidd 120 feet below. The Angles' name for this fort? Knarresburg.

• Secret Knaresborough by Paul Chrystal is published by Amberley, priced £14.99

York Press:
Geese on the High Street of Knaresborough in the 1890s

York Press:
1810 depiction of Blind Jack, emphasising his 6ft 2ins height

York Press: Knaresborough Castle, as depicted in an August 1834 edition of The Saturday Magazine.From Secret Knaresborough by Paul Chrystal
Knaresborough Castle, as depicted an edition of The Saturday Magazine from January 1834