The London County Council surveyed the people of the Old Nichol in 1890, just as the Council was coming to a decision to demolish the slum in its entirety. The occupations given are those of the head of the household; the Nichol had a higher-than-average number of female-headed homes, which is why char-ring and dressmaking, for example, feature among the trades.

The second column numbers the adults connected with the main breadwinner (spouses, elderly parents, in-laws and so on), who may well have been in employment too (or were earning pin money), but who were to some extent dependent on the person with the named occupation; ditto the children, in column 3, many (perhaps most) of whom will have had jobs.

Many of the workers were artisans, manufacturing high-quality textiles and furniture in their homes, which had to double as workshops. These kinds of specialist trades (japanning, upholstery, marble masonry etc) were facing pressure from mass-market, ‘slop’ manufacturers, and de-skilling was taking place, with consequent downward pressure on wages.