Sharing Shakespeare's Story
Hathaway Bed
Beds were one of the most expensive items in the Tudor household. This bed is known as the "Hathaway Bed", it was acquired with Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Tester beds like this were a symbol of wealth and status and were often acquired on the occasion of marriage for the couple's wedding night. It was common for multiple people to sleep in one room in Shakespeare's time, either in the same bed, on the floor or in truckle beds which rolled out from underneath the main bed. The curtains would have been for warmth and privacy.