Turner’s painting shows Somer Hill House near Tonbridge in Kent, and was presumably painted for the owner of the house, Mr W. F. Woodgate. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1811, and is effectively a ‘portrait’ of the estate. Turner constricted his composition so as to lead the viewer through the landscape to discover the house. Even Turner's handling of the sky contributes to this tunnel-like composition. A careful pencil study for the painting appears in a sketchbook used by Turner in the spring of 1810 when he also visited the nearby Rosehill (now Brightling) Park in Sussex. The sketchbook he used is in the Tate Gallery.