Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. Houndsditch.

1862		Illus. Times 11 Jan. 11/2: Deeper into the ‘Ditch’ I came upon [...] a vast wall of coats and trousers, christened Cutler-street.
1876		J. Greenwood Low-Life Deeps 216: A big bagfull of damaged cockshy toys [...] bought in the ‘ditch’ (Houndsditch).
1896		E. Pugh Man of Straw 7: ‘Hullo! Where are you from?’ ‘’Ditch. Where d’yer think?’ ‘What ’Ditch?’ ‘Houn’s ditch.’.
1930		(con. 1910–20s) D. Mackenzie Hell’s Kitchen 118: Ditch ... Houndsditch.

2. Shoreditch, East London; thus Ditch and Chapel, Shoreditch and Whitechapel.

1873		J. Greenwood In Strange Company 152: Master Muggins is but a type of hundreds and thousands who crowd the Ditch on the Sabbath.
1883		press cutting in J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 110/1: The Ditch is the oldest village in London. A bloke named Shore hung out there once. His missus went wrong with a King. When the King snuffed it the dona had to walk through the streets in her nightgown. She died in a ditch did Jane. Hence the name Shoreditch.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.
1930		(con. 1910–20s) D. Mackenzie Hell’s Kitchen 118: Ditch ... Shoreditch.