Leonard Duke recorded that he bought the drawing among a group “which contained a signed & dated Towne of 1783 and 4 pupils’ drawings much inferior to this. I paid £12 for the lot, which contained also drawings by T. Barker, J. Eagles, & W Havell. I got at least £60 for the remaining contents.” Duke also suggested that the drawing had been cut down in size. The Towne of 1783 is FT789; the pupils’ drawings are unknown.

This drawing may well be by Towne rather than by an imitator but, as the attribution is based on a very poor black and white image, this is by no means certain. The foreground right and centre seems less assured than the trees in the left foreground and on the hill behind them. If it is by Towne, perhaps it dates from the 1790s. The creation at the right edge of the drawing of the tree silhouette with a few strokes of wash is a little similar to the technique used in FT805.