Atthatperiodcast-ironpotswereinverygeneraluse，formingtheprincipalcookingutensilsoftheworkingclass。Theartofcastinghad，however，madesuchsmallprogressinEnglandthatthepotswereforthemostpartimportedfromabroad。Darbyresolved，ifpossible，toenteruponthislucrativebranchofmanufacture；andheproceededtomakeanumberofexperimentsinpot-making。Likeotherswhohadprecededhim，hemadehisfirstmouldsofclay；buttheycrackedandburst，andonetrialfailedafteranother。Hethendeterminedtofindoutthetruemethodofmanufacturingthepots，bytravellingintothecountryfromwhencethebestwereimported，inordertomasterthegrandsecretofthetrade。WiththisobjecthewentovertoHollandintheyear1706，andafterdiligentinquiryheascertainedthattheonlysuremethodofcasting”Hiltonware，”assuchcastingswerethencalled，wasinmouldsoffinedrysand。Thiswasthewholesecret。
ReturningtoBristol，accompaniedbysomeskilledDutchworkmen，Darbybeganthenewmanufacture，andsucceededtohissatisfaction。
Theworkwasatfirstcarriedonwithgreatsecrecy，lestothermakersshouldcopytheart；andtheprecautionwastakenofstoppingthekeyholeoftheworkshop-doorwhilethecastingwasinprogress。
Tosecurehimselfagainstpiracy，heproceededtotakeoutapatentfortheprocessintheyear1708，anditwasgrantedforthetermoffourteenyears。Therecitalofthepatentiscurious，asshowingthebackwardstateofEnglishiron-foundingatthattime。Itsetsforththat”whereasourtrustyandwell-belovedAbrahamDarby，ofourcityofBristol，smith，hathbyhispetitionhumblyrepresentedtous，thatbyhisstudy，industry，andexpense，hehathfoundoutandbroughttoperfectionanewwayofcastingironbelliedpotsandotherironbelliedwareinsandonly，withoutloamorclay，bywhichsuchironpotsandotherwaremaybecastfineandwithmoreeaseandexpedition，andmaybeaffordedcheaperthantheycanbebythewaycommonlyused；andinregardtotheircheapnessmaybeofgreatadvantagetothepoorofthisourkingdom，whoforthemostpartusesuchware，andinallprobabilitywillpreventthemerchantsofEnglandgoingtoforeignmarketsforsuchware，fromwhencegreatquantitiesareimported，andlikewisemayintimesupplyothermarketswiththatmanufactureofourdominions，”&c……grantsthesaidAbrahamDarbythefullpowerandsoleprivilegetomakeandsellsuchpotsandwareforandduringthetermoffourteenyearsthenceensuing。”
DarbyproceededtomakearrangementsforcarryingonthemanufactureuponalargescaleattheBaptistMills；buttheotherpartnershesitatedtoembarkmorecapitalintheconcern，andatlengthrefusedtheirconcurrence。Determinednottobebaulkedinhisenterprise，DarbyabandonedtheBristolfirm；andintheyear1709heremovedtoCoalbrookdaleinShropshire，withtheintentionofprosecutingtheenterpriseonhisownaccount。Hetooktheleaseofalittlefurnacewhichhadexistedattheplaceformorethanacentury，astherecordsexistofa”smethe”or”smeth-house”atCoalbrookdaleinthetimeoftheTudors。Thewoodsofoakandhazelwhichatthattimefilledthebeautifuldinglesofthedale，andspreadinalmostacontinuousforesttothebaseoftheWrekin，furnishedabundantfuelforthesmithery。AsthetradeoftheCoalbrookdalefirmextended，thesewoodsbecamecleared，untilthesamescarcityoffuelbegantobeexperiencedthathadalreadydesolatedtheforestsofSussex，andbroughtthemanufactureofironinthatquartertoastand-still。