Little Britain, London

Historically, Little Britain referred to a small district in the City just north of London Wall, including this street.

The opening paragraph reads: IN the centre of the great City of London lies a small neighborhood, consisting of a cluster of narrow streets and courts, of very venerable and debilitated houses, which goes by the name of LITTLE BRITAIN.

Christ Church School and St Bartholomew's Hospital bound it on the west; Smithfield and Long Lane on the north; Aldersgate Street, like an arm of the sea, divides it from the eastern part of the city; whilst the yawning gulf of Bull-and-Mouth Street separates it from Butcher Lane and the regions of Newgate.

Over this little territory, thus bounded and designated, the great dome of St. Paul's, swelling above the intervening houses of Paternoster Row, Amen Corner, and Ave-Maria Lane, looks down with an air of motherly protection.According to Irving, its name is derived from "having been, in ancient times, the residence of the Dukes of Brittany" but this is disputed (see below).

[5] Little Britain is mentioned in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations as the location of Jaggers' office.