The Cowdray engravings are based on five paintings produced for Sir Anthony Browne, King Henry VIII's Master of the Horse.

[1] Philip Yorke, the Earl of Hardwick and a keen antiquarian, proposed producing engravings of the paintings in the 1760s.

[4] The Encampment of the English Forces near Portsmouth was rendered as a watercolour by John and Charles Sherwin and then engraved by James Basire.

[1] The engravings were published in 1788 with a print run of 400 copies, distributed to fellow of the society and sold to the public.

[5] Cowdray House burnt down on 24 September 1793 and the paintings were mostly destroyed as the rendering came away from the walls, although some fragments may have survived for a few years after the fire.