Hope was such a popular ship's name in the nineteenth century that it has not been possible to trace this barge and thus date the painting with any greater accuracy. The view of the old harbour is very accurate however and shows - on the left - the historic quay from which the 'Pilgrim Fathers' boarded the Mayflower when they sailed for the New World in 1620. Behind that jetty are the gables of the unusual Elizabethan houses of New Street, each of which incorporated a ship's mast within it so that the staircase to the upper floors simply wound itself around the large central pole timber. Rising above those rooves is the tower of St. Andrew's, the cathedral church of the city, with the whole scene evocative of the bustling prosperity of Plymouth as a commercial port quite separate from its naval connections.

The Sutton Pool itself was situated to the immediate east of the Hoe at the mouth of the River Plym.