| Administrative History | Sir Alfred Seale Haslam was born in Derby in 1844, the 4th son of the ironfounder William Haslam. He trained as an engineer in Derby and Newcastle upon Tyne and in 1868 opened the Union Foundry in Derby. In 1876 the firm became the Haslam Foundry and Engineering Company Ltd. Alfred S Haslam was an early pioneer in the manufacture of refrigeration equipment, at first for long-distance transport by sea of meat from the Antipodean colonies. Haslam took over Bell and Colman patents for dry air refrigeration in 1880 and for the next fourteen years had a virtual monopoly of British marine meat refrigeration 1881 saw the arrival of his first consignment of frozen meat from Australia at a cost of 2.25d per carcass These developments opened up European markets for perishable goods and Haslam's machinery became standard equipment in warehouses and stores all over the world. Other products included boilers, hoists, mill machinery and air conditioning equipment for hospitals overseas and for the transport of explosives.
Alfred Seale Haslam was a major civic figure in Derby, active in fundraising for Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. He was knighted by Queen Victoria when she visited Derby to lay the foundation stone for the new hospital in 1891 and he presented statues of the Queen to London and Newcastle as well as to his native town. In 1900 he became Member of Parliament for Newcastle Under Lyme in Staffordshire, a seat he held for six years. Alfred Seale Haslam died in 1927 leaving over £1 million. Two of his three sons, including Alfred Victor Haslam, predeceased him but the third, Eric, continued in the family business, re-named the Derby Pure Ice and Cold Storage Co. In 1928, the electrical engineering firm Newton Brothers Ltd took over Haslam Foundry and changed its name to Newton Brothers (Derby) Ltd in 1935. |
| Custodial History | These items were deposited in the Record Office by a private individual in January and February 1974. |