Knyff was born in The Hague and had settled in England by 1681; he specialised in bird’s-eye views of English country houses, recording their architecture and agriculture with great attention to detail.

This is one of three views in the Royal Collection, all executed in c. 1705 and depicting houses belonging to Henry Seymour Portman (d. 1727): one of Bryanston (OM 426, 406633) and two of Orchard Portman (OM 425, 406743 and this reduced-scale replica). It is safe to assume that they joined the collection as a group; all three were first recorded at Kensington Palace in 1818.

Orchard Portman near Taunton was demolished in the nineteenth century. We see here a sparsely-decorated red-brick presumably Jaocbean house surrounded by its stables, chapel and walled gardens; on the left is an orchard and fields with sheep; on the right haymaking in progress; travellers walk in front of estate; a coach and six approaches main gate. This view shows exactly the way in which English patrons wished painting to function as an adjunct to an estate map, as a record of land-ownership and rural economy. One can imagine Henry Seymour not so much enjoying this painting as using it in discussions with his land agents.