3-004-017 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Great Bed of Ware, 1861. '"...if thou thou'st him some thrice, it shall not be amiss; and as many lies as will lie in thy sheet of paper, although the sheet were big enough for the bed of Ware in England, set 'em down." - Twelfth Night...Shakspeare's reference to this famous bedstead shows it was well known in his day; yet, strange to say, no account of...the circumstances which led to its construction is now to be found. For nearly three hundred years it appears to have been preserved at an ancient inn at Ware, in Hertfordshire, where, we believe, it may still be seen. It is...made of oak, and, from the curious and elaborate workmanship of the carving, must have been a costly piece of furniture. On the back is the date 1460, but these figures are questionable...Nares, in his Glossary, speaks of this bed as having once held twenty-four persons, and gives for his authority Chauncey's "History and Antiquities of Hertfordshire," but this is a mistake. The story told...by Chauncey is, that on one occasion for a frolic as many as twelve people slept in it: six at top and six at bottom; and we must admit that if it could conveniently accommodate even this number, it is well entitled to be distinguished as the "Great Bed of Ware".' From "Illustrated London News", 1861.