Find out all about Tudor beds
Ideas for Class Discussion
Do you think Tudor beds would be comfortable?
Have a class vote and see what the majority think!
Would some Tudors have more comfortable beds than others?
Yes – wealthy Tudors would sleep in beds, like the one in the video. Poorer people would sleep on the floor, on a pile of straw or on a sack stuffed with straw. Wealthier people had beds, and really wealthy people had elaborate and decorated beds.
What are the curtains and the canopy for?
Tudors didn’t have central heating, and glass was a luxury product so Tudor homes were cold and draughty. The thick curtains like the ones in the video would help keep the sleeper warm at night.
Tudor homes rarely had corridors – you had to walk through one room to get to another. At Ordsall Hall you have to walk through the Star Chamber to get to the stairs. The curtains helped keep the sleeper private if people needed to walk through their room.
Activity - compare the two beds at Ordsall Hall
The bed in the Great Chamber at Ordsall Hall - this is the bed in our video
The bed in the Star Chamber at Ordsall Hall
Ask the class to make a list of similarities and differences between the two beds. This could be done as a whole class discussion, individually or in groups.
Why do they think the beds are different from each other?
The lighter coloured bed, from the video, is a replica, but is made from the same material as the real Tudor bed, oak. It will get darker as it gets older.
The darker, more elaborate bed is an original Tudor bed – the only original piece of furniture at Ordsall Hall. It belonged to Sir John Radclyffe and Lady Ann Asshawe and was bought in 1572 at a cost of £20 (£4,800 in today’s money).