Here’s a almost unbelievable story about an important piece of British history that defied the odds to survive intact for over 400 years.
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For about 15 years an ornately carved and seemingly old double bed was the honeymoon bed used by newly married couples in a hotel in Chester, England. Eventually the bed was replaced ( probably by a larger and more modern bed) and the old carved one shoved out into the hotel parking lot. Likely it’s fate would be a second hand store or the rubbish heap, but an antique dealer happened to see it and scooped it up and put it for sale on his online shop, listing it as:
"a profusely carved Victorian four poster bed with armorial shields,"
The bed was bought online in 2010 by Ian Coulson, a restorer of antique beds who noticed it seemed to be a fair bit older that the original seller had described it. And that some of the carvings hinted at royalty.
According to his description of his first good look at the bed:
Despite studying the images I was shocked by what greeted me when I went to collect my purchase. The design and execution of the carving was sublime as was the proportion of this truly imposing bed. It was a work of art not a work of commerce. There was also the most unusual, almost tangible, feeling of power about the bed.It was immediately obvious that the bed had areas of loss and damage. There were only two crests to the canopy, one attached at the headboard the other at the footboard, a symmetrical arrangement but not correct.
snip
The roses on the posts and lion finials coupled with the arms of England and France on the shields of the headboard and footboard suggested royalty. Research showed surviving Lancastrian beds from the Stanley circle of a similar style from the late 15th – early 16th Century. These beds are covered in family heraldic devices.
The self evident age of the timber, the royal devices with the lack of other family insignia and the exquisite design and execution of the carving convinced me that this was a royal bed of Henry VII. A claim so improbable that few would listen, this was going to be a long journey!
He researched and found that a man, George Shaw of Saddleworth who lived some 170 years ago, had the bed in his possession and had apparently used the original bed to make copies to sell to unsuspecting nobles and rich northerners. Because Shaw had been a craftsman of some note, his home and shop were preserved by British Trust, so Coulson paid a visit to the site of Shaw’s shop and behold!! There was the missing third carved crest! The bed was supposed to have one on each side and one facing out from the foot. The bed Coulson bought only had the two side crests.
Coulson carefully restored the bed without removing the medieval dark varnish ( which proved to be a very smart decision — research showed that flakes of ultramarine paint from the original paint of the headboard was embedded in the varnish) and put the bed back to it’s original design. It took about 9 years for the bed to be restored, the proper authorities called in and research done to determine that:
yes...this was the original marriage bed of the Tudor King Henry VII and his bride Elizabeth of York.
The marriage itself was of great importance, since it ended the terrible Wars of the Roses that was waged for years between the houses of Lancaster and York in a bid to secure the British throne. Both of the houses could legally claim the throne so it was constantly contested...and it didn’t help matters that the one that won the crown for a time proved to be intermittently insane. The wars were long, bloody and full of plots and twists, but in the end, Henry VII became the first Tudor King and was a Lancastrian. He fell in love with Elizabeth of York and their marriage united an England that had been torn by civil strife for almost a hundred years.
Another bit to note is that much of the historical artifacts from that time were rounded up and burned by the Cromwellian regime in the 17th century. Very few pieces like this have survived the fires which makes this find so incredibly rare.
There is even a video of this remarkable story:
- The marriage bed of Henry VII and his bride surfaces: www.livescience.com/...
- The Langley Collection which now houses the bed has even more descriptions and images of the bed: www.thelangleycollection.com/…
- A fascinating pdf on the bed, it’s origins, the symbols, the research and it’s history here: gio6v3sgme0lorck1bp74b12.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/...