Brass Beds
The bed was not always the comfortable, cosy haven it is today.The earliest, ancient beds were simple, hard and uncomfortable, sometimes made of stone but from mediaeval times the bed began to become a symbol of family status and wealth.
The simple wooden bed was popular for hundreds of years until the early 1800s, but then it came under threat from metal beds. The Victorians became obsessed with hygiene and cleanliness and the heavy drapes associated with wooden beds were considered too much of a breeding ground for bugs and germs.
As the 19th century progressed, people became increasingly aware of the connection between cleanliness and good health. Soon wooden bedsteads with metal sections were replaced with frames made from iron or steel.
New developments in the metallurgy industries at this time, saw the production of cheap and durable metal products. Where previously the only metal beds were made of wrought iron, now elegant brass beds were manufactured in sections that should be easily joined together.
Some beds were made entirely of brass but most brass beds have an inner core of iron. As cast iron was cheaper than brass, brass was usually reserved for covering the iron frame and for decoration. The finials that topped the four corner posts and other decorations were made of brass.
Brass bed styles changed over the years. In the early Victorian period, the top and end rails were often highly decorated with brass scrolls, animals and flowers in urns. Such ornate embellishment continued into the 1880’s after which decoration became simpler. During the 1890’s other materials such as mother of pearl and porcelain were also used to decorate the beds.
Most of the brass bed we get here at the centre are made mostly of cast iron and decorated with brass on the bed head. These are much more common than the ones that were entirely made from brass. Generally the Victorian beds were a lot smaller than modern double beds. A Victorian “double” is only 4ft wide and would feel very cramped by today’s standards.
