Last updated: 13 November 2026
Before central heating, people kept warm in bed by heating the bed first and then trapping the warmth inside. They slid warming pans full of hot embers through the sheets, tucked hot bricks or stoneware bottles under the covers, drew thick curtains round their beds or slept in wooden box beds, wore nightcaps, and very often shared one bed with family, servants or even strangers. Central heating came late to Britain, so some of these habits lasted well into living memory.
This is a true sleep story from DELIM, a UK sleep wellness brand. Every fact below links to the museum, archive or research source it came from, and where a famous tale is a myth, we say so.
What was a warming pan and how did it work?
A warming pan was a lidded metal pan, usually copper or brass, fixed to a long wooden handle. Someone filled it with hot coals or embers from the fire, then passed it between the sheets before bedtime, moving it about to take the chill off the whole bed. The Henry Ford museum notes that the long handle let people reach into the far corners of the bed.
According to Wikipedia's history of the bed warmer, warming pans were common from the mid-1600s to the early 1900s, and a French household guide from 1853 warned readers to keep the pan moving so the sheets would not scorch. The Islington Education Library Service adds that the pan was used to drive out damp as well as cold, and that copper was popular because a thin pan stayed light enough to carry upstairs full of coals.
Is the "warming pan baby" story true?
No, it is a political rumour, not a fact. In June 1688, Mary of Modena, queen to James II, gave birth to a son, James Francis Edward Stuart. The History of Parliament explains that the king's enemies later built a theory that the real baby was stillborn and another newborn had been slipped into the queen's bed in a warming pan. Wikipedia's account of the warming-pan scandal records that 42 people who were present at the birth later testified that the prince was genuine. The story still helped stir up the crisis that ended James II's reign.
Why did four-poster beds have curtains?
Curtains turned a four-poster bed into a small, warmer room inside a big, cold one. Drawn shut, they blocked draughts and held in body heat, and they also gave a little privacy in rooms shared with others. Wikipedia's four-poster bed entry says the curtains could be closed to keep the sleeper warm because bedrooms were often cold and draughty at night.
Lancaster University's Luminary magazine notes that the canopy and curtains of early modern beds also kept out straw and other things falling from the floors or rafters above. Not everyone loved them, though. Incollect's history of New England bedrooms reports that by 1804 some people feared bed hangings were unhealthy because they trapped dust and pests.
What was a box bed?
A box bed was a bed built inside a wooden cupboard, often with doors or sliding panels. Once the sleepers climbed in, the closed box trapped their body heat, and it gave privacy in homes that had only one room. Wikipedia's box-bed entry says the closed bed, or lit clos, was the main piece of furniture in rural houses in Brittany until the 20th century, and that in Breton culture it was also believed to protect against wolves.
Apartment Therapy notes that box beds appeared across Europe, including Scotland, Austria, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. Amusing Planet reports that worries about hygiene and stale air pushed them out of fashion from the 19th century, though many Scottish homes kept using them well into the 1900s.
Did people really share beds to stay warm?
Yes. For centuries, sharing a bed was completely normal. Families squeezed into one bed, servants slept beside the people they worked for, and travellers often shared inn beds with strangers. More bodies meant more warmth, and beds and blankets were costly. A summary of historian A. Roger Ekirch's book At Day's Close on HumanProgress describes whole peasant households of five or six people sometimes sharing one bed.
Atlas Obscura reports that the British even had a slang term for sleeping several to a bed, "to pig", and that bed-sharing etiquette asked you to lie still and not hog the blankets. It also credits the Victorians with finally making separate beds the norm.
The Great Bed of Ware
The most famous shared bed in Britain is the Great Bed of Ware. The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) says it was made around 1590, most likely as a tourist attraction for an inn in Ware, Hertfordshire, and it is over three metres wide, reputedly big enough for at least four couples. Guests carved their initials or pressed red wax seals into it, and Shakespeare mentioned it in Twelfth Night in 1601. The V&A bought it in 1931 for £4,000, and it is on show in Room 57.
The night John Adams and Benjamin Franklin shared a bed
On 9 September 1776, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were travelling to peace talks with the British. In his autobiography, published on the US National Archives' Founders Online, Adams recalled that the inns at New Brunswick were so full that the two men got one bed in "a Chamber little larger than the bed", with no fireplace and one small window.
Adams, afraid of the night air, shut the window. Franklin asked him to open it again and explained his theory that stale indoor air, not cold air, was the real cause of colds. Adams reopened it, leapt into bed, and wrote that he was so amused by the lecture that he soon fell asleep, with Franklin not far behind.
Did people wear nightcaps to keep warm in bed?
Yes. Before bedrooms were heated, a nightcap of linen, cotton or wool was a simple way to keep the head warm through a cold night. History Facts reports that in 1601 Thomas Sackville, England's Lord High Treasurer, complained of feeling cold even in "a very warm night cap".
Sew Historically notes that in the Victorian era, women wore plain cotton or wool nightcaps out of need because bedrooms were usually chilly. Mental Floss adds that the idea nightcaps were mainly for keeping lice away has been largely debunked.
When was the hot water bottle invented?
People have filled containers with hot water to warm their beds for centuries, but the modern rubber hot water bottle was patented in 1903 by the Croatian inventor Eduard Penkala. Wikipedia's hot water bottle history notes that "India rubber" bottles were already in use in Britain by at least 1875, and earlier ones were made of materials such as copper, zinc, glass or earthenware.
Before bottles, there were bricks and stones. Louth Museum explains that richer households used a warming pan, while poorer families heated a brick in the fire, wrapped it in cloth and put it in the bed. The Islington Education Library Service says Victorian ceramic hot water bottles were called "stones" because heated stones and bricks were such an old way to keep hands and feet warm.
When did UK homes get central heating?
Much later than most people think. A paper in Energy Research & Social Science, hosted by White Rose Research Online, says just 5% of UK households had central heating in 1960. The UK Energy Research Centre reports that the share rose from 25% in 1970 to 90% in 2006.
The government's UK Housing Energy Fact File describes homes in 1970: few had central heating, many families heated with coal, and nearly everyone accepted wearing thick clothes indoors in winter. So the hot brick, the stone bottle and the frosty bedroom are not ancient history. Plenty of people alive today remember them.
Old ways to warm a bed at a glance
| Method | When it was common | How it kept you warm | Nearest thing today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warming pan | Mid-1600s to early 1900s | Hot embers in a lidded pan, moved through the sheets before bed | Electric blanket used to pre-warm the bed |
| Hot brick or stone | For centuries, especially in poorer homes | Heated in the fire, wrapped in cloth, tucked into the bed | Hot water bottle or wheat bag |
| Stoneware or rubber bottle | Stoneware in Victorian times; rubber patented 1903 | Sealed hot water giving off slow, steady heat | Modern hot water bottle |
| Four-poster curtains | From the 1500s in wealthier homes | Blocked draughts and held body heat around the bed | Heavy window curtains and a warmer duvet |
| Box bed | Late medieval times to the 1900s in Brittany and Scotland | A closed wooden cupboard trapped the sleepers' heat | A small, draught-free bedroom |
| Nightcap | For centuries, until the early 1900s | Kept the head covered in a cold room | Bed socks or warm sleepwear |
| Shared bed | For centuries, until Victorian times made separate beds normal | Shared body heat and shared blankets | Sharing with a partner |
What does this mean for your sleep today?
The old habit of warming the bed, and warming your feet, still fits what sleep science tells us. In a 1999 study in Nature, Kräuchi and colleagues found that warm hands and feet were the best predictor of how quickly people fell asleep. This happens through vasodilation, which simply means blood vessels in the skin widening so the body can let heat out.
A University of Washington summary of the study notes the researchers suggested this may explain the old trick of a hot water bottle near the feet. In practice that means warming your bed or your feet, then letting your body cool gently. For more on getting the balance right, read our guides on whether to sleep with socks on, whether to sleep with the heating on and whether you can sleep with an electric blanket on.
UK hot water bottle safety checklist
Hot water bottles are the most common old-style bed warmer still in use, and they can cause serious burns. Staff at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery told Swansea Bay University Health Board (NHS Wales) that they see 20 to 30 patients with hot water bottle scalds every year. Their advice:
- Check the bottle meets British Standard BS 1970 and follow the maker's instructions.
- Check for wear, damage and leaks before every use.
- Never use boiling water. Let boiled water cool for a few minutes first.
- Fill it no more than two thirds full and squeeze out the extra air before closing.
- Always use a cover, and do not sit or lie on a filled bottle.
- Do not keep it against one area of skin for more than 20 minutes.
- Drain it after use, store it away from heat and sunlight, and replace it every two years.
Who should take extra care with heat in bed
- People with reduced feeling in their feet, for example from diabetes or nerve damage. The Swansea Bay burns team warns they may not notice a leak, so burns can be worse.
- Children and babies. Ken Dunn of the Children's Burns Trust told HuffPost UK that hot water bottles should not be used for children, and that hot water bottles, wheat bags and electric blankets should never be used for babies.
- Anyone using an old bottle. If you cannot remember when you bought it, replace it.
If you often feel very cold at night, have poor circulation, or struggle to sleep for weeks at a time, speak to your GP.
Frequently asked questions
How did people keep warm in bed before central heating?
They warmed the bed first with warming pans full of embers, hot bricks or stoneware bottles, then trapped the heat with bed curtains, box beds, heavy covers and nightcaps. Many people also shared a bed with family, servants or fellow travellers, which added body heat.
When was the rubber hot water bottle invented?
The modern rubber hot water bottle was patented in 1903 by the Croatian inventor Eduard Penkala. Rubber bottles were already in use in Britain by at least 1875, and earlier bottles were made from metal, glass or stoneware.
Why did people sleep in box beds?
Box beds trapped the sleepers' body heat inside a closed wooden cupboard and gave privacy in homes with only one room. They were common in places such as Brittany and Scotland, and some were used well into the 1900s.
Did people really share beds with strangers?
Yes. For centuries, travellers often shared beds with strangers at crowded inns. The Great Bed of Ware, made around 1590 for an inn in Hertfordshire, was big enough for several couples, and John Adams and Benjamin Franklin shared a small inn bed in 1776.
Sources
- V&A: The Great Bed of Ware
- Founders Online: Autobiography of John Adams, 9 September 1776
- Kräuchi et al. (1999), Warm feet promote the rapid onset of sleep, Nature
- Swansea Bay University Health Board: hot water bottle safety
- UK Energy Research Centre: Consumer challenges for low carbon heat
- GOV.UK: UK Housing Energy Fact File 2013
- History of Parliament: James Francis Edward Stuart
- Lancaster University Luminary: early modern beds
- Atlas Obscura: the history of communal sleeping
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, poor circulation or reduced feeling in your feet, speak to your GP before using heat in bed.
Enjoyed this true sleep story? Read our earlier one on whether people used to sleep twice a night.
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