In his three oil paintings of Yarmouth Jetty 1822, 1823 (two of which are in private collections and a third version is in the Tate, London), Constable depicted the beach and the long wooden pier of Yarmouth, with a choppy sea under a cloudy, showery sky. He showed boats out to sea, with sails spread, and a horse and cart beside the beached boat in the foreground. None of the paintings include the two women who appear in the print standing on the beach. The sky Constable used in the Yarmouth paintings was similar to that of Harwich Lighthouse c.1820  ,  of which he also painted several versions.

Constable received his first proof of this mezzotint in September 1830  or 1831 (Shirley, p. 177, Beckett IV, p. 353). It was not published, however, until the final part of English Landscape in 1832. During the proofing  the pier and the boats were worked on, the anchor in the foreground,  the women on the beach and four birds were added, the sky was softened and highlights added to the sea. As a result the contrast of light and dark was emphasised.