The picture shows an old sixteenth-century house on the edge of the village of Gomshall in Surrey, a short distance away from Burrows Cross where Leader lived from 1889 until his death in 1923. The house, known as Malthouse Cottages, still stands, and its ornate timber framing is little changed today. The subject matter is unusual for Leader in that buildings do not usually play such a dominant role in his landscapes. Stylistically, however, the picture is characteristic of his later work, in which his early 'Pre-Raphaelite' manner gives way to a freer and more robust idiom, influenced by his knowledge of Corot and the Barbizon school.

A view of distant countryside to the right of the house was cut off at some stage after the picture appeared at the Lawes sale at Christie's in December 1942, when its measurements (probably including the frame) were given as 43 x 71 inches. The picture's original appearance can be gauged from another version, reproduced in Country Life on 24 February 1966, p.418. Entitled An Old Surrey House and probably a sketch for our picture, this version was sold by Leader to the dealer Arthur Tooth in March 1897 for £200. Out painting was sold for £500 to Agnew's nine months later.

We are grateful to Ruth Wood for her help in preparing this and all the B.W. Leader entries. The paintings will be included in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.