 For a person of Stanhope’s social standing, the house was considered “a modest artist’s dwelling.” Burne-Jones was a frequent visitor to Sandroyd in the 1860s, and the landscape furnished the background for his painting "The Merciful Knight" (1864), the design of which Stanhope’s "I Have Trod the Winepress Alone" is said to resemble.The move was intended to offer an improved environment for Stanhope’s chronic asthma.When his condition was not alleviated, he turned to wintering in Florence.