Sir Alfred Hickman, 1st Baronet (3 July 1830 – 11 March 1910) was a British industrialist and

Conservative party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) between 1885 and 1906. Hickman was the son of George Rushbury Hickman of

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

and his wife Mary Haden. His father was the owner of the Moat Colliery in Tipton. Hickman was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. He became a colliery proprietor and ironmaster, as the family acquired Springvale Furnace in 1866. He was a director of Lloyd's Staffordshire Proving House, a Member of Council of the

Mining Association of Great Britain The Mining Association of Great Britain (MAGB) was an industry association of employers in the mining industry of Great Britain that was active from 1854 to 1954. History The Mining Association of Great Britain was established in 1854 to represen ...

, and chairman of Staffordshire Railway and Canal Freighter's Association. In 1882 he formed the Staffordshire Steel Ingot & Iron Company Ltd to produce steel using the Bessemer process. Hickman stood for parliament for the Conservatives at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

in 1880 but was defeated. Under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

the Wolverhampton constituency was divided and in the 1885 general election, Hickman was elected

for Wolverhampton West. He lost the seat in 1886, regained it in 1892 and held it until 1906. Hickman was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1891 and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1903. He was President of the British Iron Trades Council and President of Wolverhampton Chamber of Commerce. In July 1902 he was given the honorary freedom of the borough of Wolverhampton. In 1906 he became Chairman of the newly formed

Tarmac Limited Tarmac is a British building materials company headquartered in Solihull, England. The company was formed as Lafarge Tarmac in March 2013, by the merger of Anglo American's Tarmac UK and Lafarge's operations in the United Kingdom. In July 201 ...

; the company used large quantities of his waste

slag Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-prod ...

. The Staffordshire Steel Ingot & Iron Company later became part of

Stewarts & Lloyds Stewarts & Lloyds was a steel tube manufacturer with its headquarters in Glasgow at 41 Oswald Street. The company was created in 1903 by the amalgamation of two of the largest iron and steel makers in Britain, A. & J. Stewart & Menzies, Coatbridge ...

. On his death in 1910, he bequeathed a park (Hickman Park) to the people of Bilston. Hickman married Lucy Owen Smith in 1850. Their eldest son Alfred William Hickman, a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, died in August 1902, aged 51. His grandson Alfred succeeded to the baronetcy.

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* 1830 births 1910 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor English knights People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 People from Wolverhampton {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1830s-stub