And So To Bed: History of Use & Design of the Bed Through the Ages

Wednesday 20 October 2021 at 2.00 pm

The lecture notes leaflet can be downloaded/printed here

Janusz Karczewski-Slowikowski

Janusz is a freelance lecturer and researcher in English furniture history and also an antique dealer. Further information on his lectures, etc is available on his website Janusz Speaking.

This is Janusz’s second visit to The Arts Society Fylde. His first visit was in November 2014, when he gave a lecture on The Gillows Story and its Furniture.

This lecture traces the significance and use of beds from the medieval period through to the 18th century both in terms of their association with the highest level of society as expressed through the great ‘State Beds’ and also the history of their construction, decoration and the, often costly, textiles associated with them. The significance of beds through the ages can be judged by the prominence given to them in wills and inventories – Shakespeare, in his will, left his wife Anne “my second best bed” – and modern day audiences may be surprised to learn that in times gone by, married or single, rich or poor, one never slept alone…

Caption: Canopy bed (Wikimedia Commons)