AN assortment of men armed with an eclectic collection of musical instruments terrorised a particular group of God-fearing townsfolk back in Victorian Basingstoke.

The Massagainians were hell-bent on stopping the hymn-singing Salvation Army from marching up and down the streets.

Made up of beer drinkers from a variety of backgrounds, including brewers, publicans and labourers, the Massagainians were opposed to the drink-abstaining Salvation Army preaching against the evils of alcohol.

Local historian and author Bob Clarke said: “These characters must have had a great deal of fun following The Salvation Army around and making as much noise as they could with their unusual instruments.

“There were about a dozen people trying to drown out the Salvationists with brass instruments, described as something that ‘appeared to have been dug out of the earth’, rattles made of tin cans full of stones, the banging of kettles and saucepan lids and the blowing of fog horns. And those without instruments sang obscene songs.”

Bob, whose book The Basingstoke Riots – Massagainians v The Salvation Army 1880-1883, recently published by Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society, was fascinated by the whole story.

He said: “Most people in Basingstoke have heard there were riots, but I wanted to know more about who these characters were. And the more I researched, the more fascinating I found the story.”

Bob found that the town was split into two camps – those who resented the peace of the Sabbath being disturbed by this new Christian group, which arrived in 1880 to “open fire on sin and Satan”, marching up and down the streets singing hymns and telling the townsfolk not to drink, and those who enjoyed their beer.

The town boasted at least 50 pubs in 1881 and three breweries, and people felt that the Salvation Army stance was putting livelihoods at stake.

Among those sympathetic to The Salvation Army’s cause was John Bird, the editor and founder of the Hants and Berks Gazette, the forerunner of today’s Gazette.

“I found all levels of the town totally split,” said Bob, including members of the borough council, who were involved with fierce disputes in the council chamber, as well as infighting between the town’s magistrates.

“There were members of the council, who were parading with The Salvation Army, helping to protect them, and there were other members who were carousing with the Massagainians.

“And there were two petitions, one headed by the Vicar of Basingstoke, who said The Salvation Army should be kept off the streets, and another, headed by the leaders of the London Street Congregational Church, saying that The Salvation Army should be allowed to march around the town.”

The petitions attracted more than 1,000 signatures – from a population of less than 7,000.

Imbibed with beer, thanks to the ‘generosity’ of local brewers and publicans, the Massagainians, who included people scarcely teenagers, on occasions used violence against The Salvation Army members, some of whom were ridiculed and pushed around.

Bones were broken, windows smashed, and one Salvation Army member was rolled in the mud and ducked in the town’s brook.

Reports said that 3,000 people were present during The Battle of Church Square, in March 1881, which was cleared by the Royal Horse Artillery.

Bob said: “The Riot Act was not only read once, it was read twice, and made headline articles in the national press.

“One London newspaper described Basingstoke as a town ‘which appears to be populated chiefly by a set of barbarians’.

“Questions were raised in Parliament and there is a file of correspondence in The National Archives, between various people in Basingstoke and the Home Office.”

Bob clearly enjoyed researching and writing the book, describing the exercise as “a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, slotting bits of information into place and filling in the gaps”, where he went through the Basingstoke Petty Court Books and reports published in The Gazette.

He said: “It’s interesting to contrast the court minute books and the reports in The Gazette because one was in longhand and the other was written by journalists using shorthand, which were more detailed.

“But what the minute book gives you were the feelings that The Gazette felt were not fit to print, because there was some editorial function in the interest of respectability, whereas the minute book attempted to give verbatim accounts of what was said.”

An example of this is shown early in Bob’s book, giving a “vivid picture of the underside of Basingstoke life”, when in January 1883 PC Astridge reported seeing a reprobate called Jonas Starr standing in the doorway of The Castle pub, in Reading Road, verbally abusing a woman.

Enjoying a pint at the very same establishment – now a bar called Poison – Bob said: “That colourful language was in the court book, but it wouldn’t have come out in The Gazette, which wouldn’t use foul or disgusting language.”

The Basingstoke Riots – Massagainians v The Salvation Army 1880-1883 costs £10 and is available from The Willis Museum, Milestones and Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society – email secretary@bahsoc.org.uk.