In the year 1830 Alfred Hickman was born in Tipton. His association with iron making colliery working began from his earliest days in industry. His first venture alone was to purchase the land and plant of an existing iron works in Bilston. The plant consisted of three old brick furnaces and their associated equipment, the year being 1856.
A programme of modernisation followed and by 1874, four furnaces were in use with an average output of 300 tons of pig iron per week from each furnace.
His next move was to install Bessemers concerters for the production of steel using pig iron produced by his own furnaces. To supplement his supplies of pig iron two additional blast furnaces each capable of producing 400 tons per week were used by 1886. Local supplies of iron ore were insufficient and supplies came from several sources including local mines, North Staffordshire, Northamptonshire and the furness district of Cumbria together with the cinder produced in the manufacture of wrought iron. Fuel supplies consisted of local coal and coke supplied from South Yorkshire. Limestone, used as a fluk in the furnaces was obtained sometime from local sources but over the years substantial quantities were imported from the Wenlock district of Salop, Walsall.
When trade permitted the six furnaces would be in use, but usually one furnace would be under repair. It was usual to carry out furnace re-lines as and when time and labour permitted.
After 1901 only five furnaces are listed, which remained the situation during Hickman's ownership. The pig iron production was in the firms steel making departments. Slag from the blast furnaces was used for railway ballast and from 1905 as road surfacing material processed at the nearby Tarmac company.
In 1920 a majority shareholding in the company was acquired by Stewart's & Lloyds Ltd and in 1925 became a wholey owned subsidary company.
| Reference: | 458 |
| Keywords: | Alfred Hickman Blast Springvale Furnaces MCOL 1900c 2000c |
| Archive Ref: | 1994/013/008 W. Mid Studies A Hickman 1866-1932 1994/013/448 Development of Corby-F. Scopes'68 4.412 |
| Updated: | 6/9/2001 11:33:04 |