Kirby Fleetham, near Richmond, Yorkshire was a mid-Georgian house in a Palladian style owned by the Aislabie family of nearby Fountains Hall. Extensive work was undertaken in the Park by either John Aislabie (1670-1742) or his son William (d. 1781) including the resiting of the old estate village on Fleetham Plateau achieving a result similar to that at Studley Royal, the magnificent ornamental gardens created by the Aislabies which incorporated the ruins of Fountains Abbey, creating by the end of the century one of the greatest of physical documents of the Picturesque movement.

The Aislabies were known patrons of Balthasar Nebot. The present picture seems to have been part of a set, largely depicting views of Studley Royal, of which according to Harris (loc. cit. p. 111) twelve out of a possible fifteen are by one hand, including the present picture. The present picture has been dated to the 1750's.