Though it could have something to do with dickens or these old dirty poems I think it is a reference to a london pub (and its owner)

Wikipedia

Dirty Dick's is a venerable pub in Bishopsgate, London, United Kingdom, a short walk from Liverpool Street station. The Young's tied house pub sells a range of real ales and other beers on draught and in bottles and boasts three separate bars on different levels. [edit] History
Its name refers to its original owner, an ironmonger called Nathaniel Bentley, who suffered a nervous breakdown after his fiancée Nell died the day before their wedding. He locked the room in which the wedding feast was laid out and never cleaned the house again. When he died in 1804 his shop was sold, eventually being converted into a pub. His dead stuffed cats and other possessions were put on display. It was cleared up in the 1980s for health and safety reasons, although it still retains much of its character.