However, in 1709, a man called Abraham Darby finally succeeded ... In the space of 40 years, the small village of Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire, where Darby made his discovery, became a major ...

Abraham Darby's Coalbrookdale blast furnace, pictured c1880 In 1705 he took on a lease at a blast furnace in Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, where he began using coke as a fuel to smelt iron.

Thomas Goldney III and his father held controlling shares in Abraham Darby's ironworks at Coalbrookdale – bought with profits resulting from these voyages. The ironworks produced brass objects which ...