White's Nottinghamshire Directory for 1853

White's Directory contains a wealth of information about the history of Nottinghamshire and its major towns and villages. It also provides a snapshot of life in the mid 19th century, describing briefly each town or village and listing local services, societies and tradesmen.

Below is a summary of the occupations of the local tradesmen of Hucknall Torkard as recorded in the directory. The number employed in each occupation is in brackets. What the directory does not list however, are the humble framework knitters who were the backbone of the local economy.

The wide and comprehensive list of occupations suggests that Hucknall was largely a self sufficient community at this time. Often individuals practiced more than one trade, for example James Widdowson was a farmer, a maltster and a coal-dealer.