Abraham Darby I
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Abraham Darby, in his later life called Abraham Darby the Elder, now sometimes known for convenience as Abraham Darby I (14 April 1677 – 5 May 1717, the first and best known of several men of that name), was a British
ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...
and
foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
man. Born into an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
family that played an important role in the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
, Darby developed a method of producing
pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...
in a
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...
fuelled by coke rather than
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
. This was a major step forward in the production of iron as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution.


Early life

Abraham Darby was the son of John Darby, a yeoman farmer and locksmith by trade, and his wife Ann Baylies. He was born at
Wren's Nest The Wren's Nest is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, north west of the town centre of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. It is one of the most important geological locations in Britain. ...
in
Woodsetton Woodsetton is an area of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands of England, roughly northwest of Dudley Town Centre. Formerly in the Sedgley Urban District, a part of Woodsetton (which included Dudley Castle) was transferred int ...
,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, now part of
Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...
, West Midlands. He was descended from nobility; his great-grandmother Jane was an
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
child of
Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (09 September 1567 – 23 June 1643) was an English peer, politician, and landowner. He briefly served in the House of Commons. Sutton became widely known for his intemperate behaviour, which ultimately led to t ...
. Abraham's great-grandmother was a sister of the whole blood to
Dud Dudley Dudd (Dud) Dudley (c.1600–1684) was an English metallurgist, who fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War as a soldier, military engineer, and supplier of munitions. He was one of the first Englishmen to smelt iron ore using cok ...
, who claimed to have
smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''At ...
ed iron using coke as a fuel. Unfortunately, the iron that Dudley produced was not acceptable to the charcoal ironmasters. However, this may have inspired his great-grandnephew Darby to perfect this novel method of smelting. In
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
in the early 1690s, Darby was apprenticed to Jonathan Freeth, a fellow Quaker and a manufacturer of
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...
s for grinding
malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...
. Here Darby would have seen the use of coke to fuel malting ovens, not only preventing the
sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...
content of
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
from contaminating the resulting
beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
, but also avoiding its use of the scarcer
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
as a fuel. The combination of these two insights was to lead to Darby's development of the coke-fuelled
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...
in 1709. Freeth encouraged Darby to become a highly active member in the Society of Friends, and he remained so all his life. In 1699, when he completed his apprenticeship, he married Mary Sergeant (1678–1718) and moved to
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, where he set himself up as a malt mill maker.


Bristol

There was a small community of
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
in Bristol, and Darby soon gained a reputation for skill and enterprise. In 1702 Darby joined a number of fellow Quakers to form the
Bristol Brass Company Bristol () is a cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north ...
, with works at
Baptist Mills Baptist Mills is an area of the city of Bristol, England. The name derives from the former mills which stood in that area. The area is centred on the River Frome at Junction 3 of the M32 Motorway. Construction of the motorway divided the neighbou ...
in Bristol. He brought in 'Dutchmen' to operate a
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
battery work, making cooking pots and other
holloware Holloware (mostly in American English) or hollow-ware is tableware that forms a vessel or container of some kind, as opposed to flatware such as plates. Examples include sugar bowls, creamers, coffee pots, teapots, soup tureens, hot food cov ...
under a
trip hammer Trip may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books Fictional characters * Trip (Pokémon), Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character * Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers'' * Trip, in the 2013 film ...
. He also developed a method for casting pots in '
greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and co ...
'
mould A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi ...
s, previously only used for smaller castings. This enabled pots and
cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...
s to be mass-produced and to be thinner than those made by the traditional process of casting in loam moulds. For this purpose, he established the Cheese Lane Foundry in 1704. Initially he cast brass pots, but by 1705, he moved on to using iron.Cox, 128-9. A young
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apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...
, John Thomas, solved the problem by using sand for the mould, with a special casting box and
core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...
.Rolt, L.T.C., "Great Engineers", 1962, G. Bell and Sons Ltd, ISBN Using this casting method Darby could cast pots of sufficient thinness and lightness. Darby took out a patent on the new casting method in 1707, Darby's successors sold cooking pots over wide areas of England and Wales, and had a virtual monopoly in the trade. For this he used a reverberatory air furnace of a kind developed by Sir Clement Clerke, initially for smelting lead near Bristol, and applied by him or his son
Talbot Talbot is a dormant automobile marque introduced in 1902 by British-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément ...
to iron founding at
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
.


Copper at Coalbrookdale

In 1700, another group of Bristol Quakers (including Edward Lloyd and Charles Harford) had agreed to set up a brass works 'somewhere in England'. It is not clear where, but by 1712, Caleb Lloyd, Jeffrey Pinnell, Abraham Darby and his brother-in-law Thomas Harvey had brass works at
Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a town in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called The Gorge, Shro ...
. This is likely to be linked to an increase in shipment of 'Callumy' (
Calamine Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication made from powdered calamine (mineral), calamine mineral that is used to treat mild itchiness. Conditions treated include sunburn, insect bites, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivy, poiso ...
) up the
river Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
from 1704 and Darby's agreement in 1710 to open a copper mine at Harmer Hill in
Myddle Myddle—also formerly known as Mydle, Middle, , M'dle, Meadley and Medle—is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Myddle, Broughton and Harmer Hill, in the Shropshire Council district, in the ceremonial county of Shro ...
, on behalf of a 'Company of the City of Bristol'. However, Darby was not a partner in establishing Tern Mill, near Tern Hall (now
Attingham Park Attingham Park is an English country house and estate in Shropshire. Located near the village of Atcham, on the B4380 Shrewsbury to Wellington road. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed building. Attingham Park was buil ...
) in 1709, though his partners Thomas Harvey, Lloyd and Pinnell were. At this point Darby decided to leave the brass company and concentrate on his iron founding pursuits.


Coalbrookdale furnace

Darby leased the furnace in September 1708, and set to work preparing to get it into blast. His first account book, running from 20 October 1708 to 4 January 1710 survives. This shows the production of 'charked' coal in January 1709 and the furnace was brought into blast on 10 January. Darby sold 81 tons of iron goods that year. The furnace was used for the first time on 10 January 1709 and the blast appears to have been successful. Darby was probably helped by the fact that the Shropshire 'clod coal' that he was using was fairly
sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...
-free. However, experimentation with different fuels continued for some time; for example cargoes of coal were brought up the
Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
from
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
and
Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...
. Some of the molten iron from the blast was run into
pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
and sent down the Severn for use in Bristol foundries, but much of it was used to cast pots and other cast iron goods. The reasons why the iron produced by Darby was not used in forges to make wrought iron have been much debated. The reason may be partly that his pig iron was better for castings than charcoal pig iron, but the presence of silicon as an impurity made it an unattractive feedstock for
finery forge A finery forge is a forge used to produce wrought iron from pig iron by decarburization in a process called "fining" which involved liquifying cast iron in a fining hearth and decarburization, removing carbon from the molten cast iron through Redo ...
s. However recent work has thrown doubt on this explanation, which is based on data from the 1720s when the
Coalbrookdale Company Coalbrookdale is a town in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge. Th ...
operated a forge: the forge could hardly even make a profit with charcoal pit iron. The business was partly financed by a loan from Thomas Goldney II of Bristol and by
Graffin Prankard Gregory Walter Graffin (born November 6, 1964) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and only constant member of the punk rock, punk band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1980. He has also released three solo albums. Graffin obtai ...
and James Peters becoming partners. Later John Chamberlayne became a partner, and Darby's brother-in-law
Thomas Baylies Thomas Baylies (1687–March 1756) was a Quaker ironmaster first in England, then in Massachusetts. Origins and family Thomas Baylies was the son of Nicholas Baylies of Alvechurch in north Worcestershire. On 5 June 1706, he married Esther, d ...
a manager.


Expansion

In 1712 Darby offered to instruct William Rawlinson, a fellow Quaker and
ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...
, in the techniques of smelting with coke. Apparently, Rawlinson, the founder of the
Backbarrow Backbarrow is a village in the Lake District National Park in England. It lies on the River Leven about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Ulverston in Furness in the county of Cumbria. History Backbarrow probably grew during the Elizabethan p ...
Iron Company in
Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...
, did not take up the offer. In 1714, Darby and his partners renewed their lease (effective from 1717) and then built a second blast furnace. This was slightly more productive in the 1720s than the Old Blast Furnace. It is not clear when this furnace began production but it was certainly in use by 1718. The company also secured Vale Royal Furnace in central
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, but this did not come into their possession before Abraham Darby's death. Afterward, it was taken over by
Thomas Baylies Thomas Baylies (1687–March 1756) was a Quaker ironmaster first in England, then in Massachusetts. Origins and family Thomas Baylies was the son of Nicholas Baylies of Alvechurch in north Worcestershire. On 5 June 1706, he married Esther, d ...
with other partners. The Company embarked on a similar venture at Dolgûn, near
Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...
, where John Kelsall was appointed as clerk, but it is probable that the furnace there was not finished until after Darby died, when his widow and the other partners sold off their lease.


Death

After 18 months' illness, Abraham Darby died on 5 May 1717, at his home,
Madeley Court Madeley Court is a 16th-century country house in Madeley, Shropshire, England which was originally built as a Monastic grange, grange to the medieval Wenlock Priory. It has since been restored as a hotel. The house is ashlar built in two storey ...
,
Madeley, Shropshire Madeley is a historic market town and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 18,774 at the 2021 census. Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8t ...
, aged 40. He had built a house for himself in Coalbrookdale but did not live to occupy it. He was buried in the Quaker burial-ground at
Broseley Broseley () is a market town in Shropshire, England, with a population of 4,929 at the 2011 Census and an estimate of 5,022 in 2019. The River Severn flows to its north and east. The first iron bridge in the world was built in 1779 across the ...
, Shropshire. His widow died only a few months later.


New company

Darby's death left the affairs of the business in a mess. His own shares were mortgaged to Thomas Goldney, who then exchanged the debt for eight shares (of 16) in the business. Richard Ford, who married Abraham's daughter Mary, had two shares and became manager, but on the widow's death Thomas Baylies took out
letters of administration Letters of Administration are granted by a surrogate court or probate registry to appoint appropriate people to deal with a deceased person's estate where property will pass under intestacy rules or where there are no executors living (and will ...
as a creditor and sought to sell the works. Darby's eldest son,
Abraham Darby II Abraham Darby, in his lifetime called Abraham Darby the Younger, referred to for convenience as Abraham Darby II (12 May 1711 – 31 March 1763) was the second man of that name in an English Quaker family that played an important role in the ea ...
, was only six years old and his two brothers younger still. Accordingly, their uncle Joshua Sergeant bought back some of the shares on behalf of the Darby children. The children were sent away to school, and Abraham II began assisting in the management of the works in 1728 and he was awarded four shares in the company in 1732.


Legacy

Abraham Darby made an important step towards the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. His method of casting pots in sand provided his successors with a viable business that operated for over two centuries. Smelting iron with coke ultimately released the iron industry from the limitation imposed by the preliminary step of "charcoal burning" where trees were first cut and burned to make charcoal. It also shifted the fuel used for making steel from renewable wood, to a fossil fuel, and so helped preserve native
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
. Coke-smelted cast iron went into steam engines, bridges, and many of the inventions of the 19th century. Coke smelting made possible the great quantities of iron produced which drove the Industrial Revolution. The Abraham Darby room at
Friends House Friends House is a multi-use building at 173 Euston Road in London, England. The building houses the central offices of British Quakers and a conference centre. The building is also the principal venue for North West London Meeting and the Bri ...
, London, UK is named after him.


See also

*
Abraham Darby II Abraham Darby, in his lifetime called Abraham Darby the Younger, referred to for convenience as Abraham Darby II (12 May 1711 – 31 March 1763) was the second man of that name in an English Quaker family that played an important role in the ea ...
*
Abraham Darby III Abraham Darby III (24 April 1750 – 1789) was an English ironmaster and Quaker. He was the third man of that name in several generations of an English Quaker family that played a pivotal role in the Industrial Revolution. Life Abraham Darby ...


References


External links

*
Abraham Darby and family biographyThe Darby House
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, Abraham I English ironmasters People of the Industrial Revolution 17th-century English inventors English Quakers Foundrymen 1677 births 1717 deaths Quaker families 17th-century Quakers 18th-century Quakers Burials in Shropshire 17th-century ironmasters 18th-century ironmasters 18th-century British artisans