One of a small group of landscapes made by Burne-Jones in 1863, three of which are in the Birmingham Collection. It has been suggested by some scholars that these landscapes served as background studies for Burne-Jones's 1863 work, The Merciful Knight, also in Birmingham's Collection. His granddaughter, Angela Thirkell, who presented these landscapes to Birmingham stated that these were in fact used for the 1864 watercolour Green Summer (Private Collection). It was typical at the time for Burne-Jones to go out into the landscape and then transfer his findings onto his final work as backgrounds. This was probably made in Cobham, Surrey, whilst he stayed there with his friend, the artist John Roddam Spencer Stanhope. Presented by Mrs G L Thirkell, 1954.
This and no. 247 [Burne-Jones 1975] were almost certainly made at the same time as the study background for The Merciful Knight (no. 84 [Burne-Jones 1975]), during Burne-Jones's visit to Spencer Stanhope at Cobham in June 1863.