His father, Thomas Hackman, was the parochial vestry clerk in Fulham, giving him access to the powerful Bishop of London, William Howley.
Through Howley's influence, Alfred Hackman matriculated as a servitor of Christ Church, Oxford on 25 October 1832.
Hackman was appointed by his college vicar of Cowley, near Oxford, in 1839, and was from 1841 to 1873 a precentor at Christ Church.
From 1844 to 1871 Hackman was vicar of St. Paul's, where he exercised a considerable influence as a preacher, not only on his own parishioners, but also on the undergraduates of the university, who were attracted by his earnestness and quaint vivacity.
Hackman attended to his parish, with his free time largely occupied by his duties in the Bodleian Library, where in 1862 he was appointed sub-librarian.