A study for Thornhill's oil portrait BHC3102, and inscribed by him in ink, 'John Worley aet: 96 born at Harford West. [Haverfordwest] Pembrokeshire. / 1624. servd at sea 70 years. / in ye Ciel: at Greenwich he is Hyems [Winter]'. This is written over a fainter earlier inscription in another hand which appears to read reads 'Ion Wh...y +Aet 96' in pencil. The Painted Hall earned Thornhill (1676-1724), £3 per square yard for the ceiling and a £1 for the walls - and a knighthood.

John Worley (1624-1721), who was one of the first 46 Pensioners to enter Greenwich Hospital in 1705, was used to represent Hiems (Winter) on the ceiling of its Painted Hall. Traditionally, this drawing has been dated to around 1720 on account of the fact the inscription mentions that Worley was 96 years old. However, since it was probably a preliminary study for the figure on the Lower Hall ceiling which Thornhill finished by 1712, it more probably dates from around 1708-10. The inscription in ink, overlying a faint one in pencil, seems to have been added later after Worley died aged 96 or 97 in 1721. In this case, both the drawing and painting would in fact show Worley in his mid-80s. PAD2720 is a rather different mezzotint of Worley published by John Faber in 1709 which tends to support this in terms of appearance.