Four-poster bed

A four-poster bed is a bed with four vertical columns, one in each corner, that support a tester, or upper (usually rectangular) panel. This tester or panel will often have rails to allow curtains to be pulled around the bed. There are a number of antique four-poster beds extant dating to the 16th century and earlier; many of these early beds are highly ornate and are made from oak. An example of such an early 16th-century four-poster resides in Crathes Castle, which was made for the original castle owners in the Burnett of Leys family.

Four-poster bed

Ornate Elizabethan four-poster bed

Four-poster beds were developed for several practical reasons. Bedrooms often had draughts and could be cold at night: the curtains could be closed to help keep the occupant of the bed warm. The curtains also helped to give privacy to the sleepers, since servants and bodyguards often slept in the same room,[1] especially in the case of royalty, served by a special group of servants of the bedchamber (usually noble courtiers), lords and ladies of the bedchamber, esquires of the body, etc. In the mediaeval era and up to the 18th century beds were items of furniture on which great personages and royalty made public appearances and held court, thus they were designed to impress. A four poster bed with backboard and tester allowed extra space from which to display and hang expensive fabrics and heraldic decoration.