 Locals claim that the Murgatroyd ancestors in "Ruddigore" are based on the Murgatroyd family of East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire.According to his biographers, Sidney Dark and Rowland Grey, Gilbert also drew on some of his earlier verse, the "Bab Ballads", for some plot elements.The song "I know a youth who loves a little maid," can be traced back to the Bab Ballad "The Modest Couple", in which the very shy and proper Peter and Sarah are betrothed but are reluctant to shake hands or sit side by side.