Abraham Darby

In the 1690's Abraham Darby was apprenticed to another Quaker, Jonathan Freeth, a maker of malt mills in Birmingham. Upon completion of that apprenticeship in 1699 he married a Mary Sargeant and moved to Bristol.

After being involved in the setting up of the famous brass works at Baptist Mills, he visited the Netherlands. He wanted to learn more about the brass-making industry.

Introduction to Iron-Making

He set up an iron-making foundry at Cheese Lane but had little success at casting iron pots. After meeting John Thomas, a Quaker ironworker from Montgomeryshire, he succeeded by using fine sand and a mould box.

He took out a patent on the process and asked Thomas not to divulge the process for three years. He was also asked not to work for anyone else.

The Coalbrookdale Works

Darby's interest in iron-making was growing, and in 1708 he leased and repaired Sir Basil Brooke's furnace at Coalbrookdale. He relinquished his ties with the brass-making industry. By 1710 his new ironworks were producing kettles, pots and bellied cauldrons for the local community.

Quakers

When Abraham Darby arrived in the area there were no Quakers living on the south side of the Severn. By 1716 there were eight Quaker families living in the parish of Madeley, mostly employed at his Coalbrookdale works.

The First Home

White End, a timber-framed house near his forge, had been his first home. It was demolished in 1939 as part of a road widening scheme. In 1712 he had rented Madeley Court while his new house was being built. He died there on the 5th May 1717, and was buried in the Quaker graveyard at Broseley.