Wiki is interesting on the subject of Shirley's raffish past, a couple of centuries ago: various conditions there and then, re the area, "attracted sporting activity in the form of bull baiting, cockfighting... and pugilism. These activities encouraged the church authorities to start building St. James Church in 1831..." Half a century or so later, a similar story unfolded in Gorton, Manchester; with an initiative on the part of St. Mark's Church there to provide more wholesome pursuits for the often unruly local male youth, involving founding a football club which ultimately became Manchester City F.C.