Little Ireland

[4] Despite this reputation, the slum was the shortest lived of all the areas of Irish settlement in the city, and also the smallest, covering about four acres.

[5][6] Houses along the front of Oxford Road, initially intended as modest middle-class residences, were repurposed in the early nineteenth century as multi-occupation premises for industrial workers as economic activity picked up in the city.

[4] Cellars, ordinarily used to store wood, coal and non-perishable foods, were later rented out as cheaper accommodation leading to conditions of perpetual humidity and damp in which infectious diseases could thrive.

In his book The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, Friedrich Engels wrote about Little Ireland, calling it a "horrid little slum".

[8][9] Aided by the popularity of Engels' book, the area gained international infamy as the archetypal Irish district in nineteenth century industrial cities.