One writer stated that Gilbert's reference was inspired by an incident, the year before Ruddigore premiered, where the governing party spent much of a summer in a manor near a Basingstoke mental hospital to avoid both the stench of a recent sewer blockage in London and the anger of the people with whom they were unpopular.Bosdêt, Mary (November–December 1992). "Whence Basingstoke!?". GASBAG. XXIV (185): 7. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
One writer stated that Gilbert's reference was inspired by an incident, the year before Ruddigore premiered, where the governing party spent much of a summer in a manor near a Basingstoke mental hospital to avoid both the stench of a recent sewer blockage in London and the anger of the people with whom they were unpopular.Bosdêt, Mary (November–December 1992). "Whence Basingstoke!?". GASBAG. XXIV (185): 7. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2014.