The present work depicts the 13th century fortified manor house, Stokesay Castle, in Shropshire, one of the finest surviving buildings of its type in the UK. It was purchased in 1869 and restored throughout the 1870s by John Derby Allcroft. Allcroft and his business partner John Dent made their fortune through their company Dent, Allcroft & Company, which held a virtual monopoly on the market for gloves in the second half of the 19th century. The company is still in business today as Dents.

It was Allcroft who first commissioned Leader to paint Stokesay Castle, though the artist returned to the subject a number of times from 1870 to 1877. This work is most closely related to a smaller study also signed and dated 1872, although in that work the building is seen from a different angle.