Samuel Scott is the name associated with a new and meticulous style of English topographical painting invented in the mid-eighteenth century in response to the popularity of Canaletto, especially after his English visits during the years 1747-51.

This is a popular view which occurs in many versions including another in the Royal Collection (OM 601, RCIN 402435). We are looking directly down Pall Mall, which lines up on the west side of St James's Street here clearly marked by a pavement; the spire of St Martin in the Fields is visible in the distance. To the right is St James's Palace: the Tudor gatehouse and windows of the Chapel Royal, partly covered by later rather scrappy building. East of this instead of Marlborough Road cutting across (as it does now) the Palace perimeter wall continues behind which are red-brick blocks marking the exterior of Friary Court, beyond this appears the white stucco of the Queen's Chapel and beyond that the brick fringed with stone of Marlborough House. The people are seen strolling in the foreground, some stopping to watch the guard change, while carriages drive along Pall Mall. The costumes date the image to the 1740s.