Cowes Castle is now home to the Royal Yacht Squadron, however in 1831 it was the maritime residence of Lord Anglesey, then Captain of Cowes Castle and also member of the RYS. The Castle sits on the western side of Cowes, flanking the town with its sister castle to the Eastern side. Both were built in 1539-40 by Henry VIII as part of his network of coastal defences to defend England from the threat of French and Spanish invasion.

J.M.W. Turner painted his famous work of East Cowes Castle in 1828, 3 years before this work and would probably have gazed at the same view as this work depicts. This picture has superb detail, and is an excellent historical document of the Castle in 1831.
Lynn exhibited marines at the British Institution, working from Commercial Road in London.