Britain's oldest bed, a sturdy oak four-poster, has endured the trials and tribulations of a longstanding kingdom since the Elizabethan period.
It stands as the sole surviving piece of furniture from Salford's Ordsall Hall. Originally crafted for Sir John Radclyffe and Lady Anne Asshawe in the 1570s, the bed mysteriously disappeared around 1650 during a change of ownership at the Hall. For nearly three centuries, its whereabouts remained unknown until it resurfaced in the home of a resident in Whalley Range, Manchester. The circumstances of how it came into his possession remain a mystery, but the bed was eventually sold off in pieces to cover his death duties. In a stroke of fortune, Dr. Chris Douglas, a collector of medieval and Tudor furniture, painstakingly restored the bed to its former glory in 1968.
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