A cacophony of sounds could be heard coming from the yard of a West Oxford lodging house on the morning on Saturday, September 3, 1892.

Italian Tomasso Lanni, 52, and his son Francesco had risen early. They were tuning the street organ they would take into the city to scrape an income.

Joined by their pet monkey they would play popular tunes of the day to passers-by.

They were among 10 Italians living in the lodgings, which housed 16 in total. Another resident was street hawker William Norris on the first floor.

Having been woken by the din Norris lay in bed before sticking his head out of the window. He shouted that if they didn’t move the organ he would come down and smash it.

Tomasso couldn’t speak English but acknowledged Norris with a wave of the hatchet he was using as a tuner.

Nothing further was said until Norris staggered back into the men’s only kitchen at 7.30 that night. He was “drunk and quarrelsome” and spoiling for a fight. “You showed the hatchet to me this morning” he yelled at the old man, “show it again tonight!”

“You needn’t talk with him,” said the 17 year old Francesco reasonably, “I can deal with you.”

Norris removed his coat and reached for a poker. But failing to find a weapon he raised his fitss and lunged at the men. In self-defence Francesco struck his attacker three times in the head with a hammer. The first two blows fractured Norris’ skull and the third drove a bone into his brain. Norris staggered out smothered in blood.

The police recovered the weapons and arrested the Lannis the next day outside the Dew Drop Inn, in Banbury Road.

For defending themselves against Norris the organ grinders were both sentenced to a month’s hard labour in Oxford Prison.

After this they went back to the “Italian Colony” of Salop Street, Wolverhampton, where they had already appeared in court twice – once over unpaid wages, and once after a man had attempted “sparring off” with their monkey and had pulled a knife on Tomasso.

More successful was “nobleman organ grinder” Viscount Hinton. After being cut off by his father, the 6th Earl Poulett, Hinton was reduced to playing the organ on the streets of London.

On his father’s death he toured his musical act around UK variety theatres, unsuccessfully trying to grind his way into the House of Lords as the 7th Earl.

Surprisingly, you can still hear organ grinders on Oxfordshire’s streets in 2015.

Banbury’s Street Organ Festival will celebrate its 23rd anniversary this September. Just watch out for the monkeys.