Rowland Hill (1744-183) was an evangelical preacher and dissenting minister who attracted huge crowds, sometimes up to 20,000 people, on his preaching tours throughout the country. He described himself as the 'Rector of Surrey chapel, Vicar of Wotton-under-Edge, and curate of all the fields, commons etc. throughout England and Wales'.

Hill founded, and was the resident pastor at, the independent Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London, where he used the Anglican liturgy and allowed evangelicals of any denomination to preach. He established 13 Sunday schools for over 3,000 children, the Dorcas Society for the relief of poor married women, an almshouse for poor women, and a school of industry for poor girls. He also supported the London Missionary Society, was involved in the formation of the Religious Tract Society, supported the British and Foreign Bible Society, and was a trustee of the Evangelical Magazine. Hill was on close terms with Dr Edward Jenner, and became a keen advocate of vaccination. In 1806, he opened a clinic attached to Surrey Chapel, and thousands of children were vaccinated there. Hill's popular work of fiction, Village Dialogues, ran to 30 editions.

This miniature is based on a portrait (whose current location is unknown) by John Russell which is known from an engraving by Joseph Collyer, published in March 1783. A pastel drawing by Russell of Hill's head is in the National Portrait Gallery, London. The identity of the artist of the miniature is unknown.