Are you wondering what are bed warmers?
Let me paint you a picture, your bed is cold, and you go through heaven and earth to find a bed warmer.
Then you end up in an antique shop where the cashier hands you a weird-looking frying pan when you asked if there was a bed warmer.
It’s gold and is made of copper, which is weird since pans are made of stainless steel or aluminum.
You have no idea what it is, and neither do the people you know what to do with it.
It’s a pan, but it’s too long, so obviously, it’s not a frying pan.
The radius of the actual pan is also too small for any meat to be cooked in it.
So is it a vegan pan?
A pan where only vegetables can fit that would be a waste of copper, wouldn’t it?
You might be very confused about the pan that the antique shop gave you, so you went to the internet.
Lucky for you, we know the answer.
What Bed Warmers Are: The Facts!
No amount of blankets can ever fix a problem of a cold bed.
When you sleep, you want to feel warm and refreshed, not feel like you are about to die hypothermia.
And you don’t want that.
Well, neither do we.
And this confusing frying pan that the antique shop gave you will help you with this problem.
In all actuality, it is an antique bed warmer.
So, what are bed warmers?
We looked up facts about this bed warmer.
And here they are:
Fact #1. It was invented in the eighteenth century
In a time where heaters for houses weren’t yet invented, you would have to live with what temperature the weather gave you.
Bed warmers were sold only in one place, and that place was at the warehouse of Thomas Howard, who invented it.
His warehouse was located in No.11 St. Paul’s churchyard.
The product was top-rated in cold countries, especially in Europe, since Thomas was from London.
People used it as a hot stone, coal, or brick preheated in the fireplace and enclosed in the pan.
This pan was considered a valuable family possession and was handed down from generation to generation.
Now I know what you might think, is it that expensive that only the rich can afford?
The answer is no, but one where it was heavily decorated or made from silver was common for the wealthy people.
Fact #2. It caused a lot of accidents
This one might make you not hold a bed warmer.
Since it used coal and fire, there are a lot of accidents that are prone to happen.
During a typical Monday, an accident happened where an elderly woman was about to go to bed.
And the housekeeper was carrying a hotbed warmer that was straight from the fireplace.
They went up the stairs, and the elder slip.
She fell on the housekeeper, and the stone fell on her face. She died 24 hours later.
A fire also broke out one time at a chapel.
A 14-year-old boy was carrying hot coal in the warming pan.
He went out to the field, and the pan burnt his hand.
So, as any regular person would do, he let go of the pan, and the fire spread throughout the field.
The pan burned the barn located near the field, two stables, and some house near it.
Another incident happened when a housekeeper, when a helper warmed up the master’s bed, went down to put the coal back in the fireplace.
She fell asleep near the fireplace but has not yet fully distributed the coal.
Then, the helper woke up early in the morning realizing that her clothes were on fire she died the same day.
It came with its risks since they used fire and heated coal, which can spark and set things ablaze.
Fact #3. The bed wagon
The bed wagon served as a solution to the accident-prone warming pans.
It was designed to hold a pot of coal in the center of the bed.
It had a large wooden frame that enclosed a bucket of embers and an iron pot.
The pot was also filled with hot water, which made it safer to use.
In addition, it was very light and sturdy, which made it easy to transfer.
A different but equivalent piece of furniture made in Italy looked more like a sledge than a wagon.
The sledge carried a pot of coal, water, or wood from the top of the frame.
Its pot was made of iron or brass and had lids so that embers cannot seep through the top of the pot.
Doctors during the 18th century were against using embers.
They have suggested using hot sand to avoid setting anything ablaze.
Wrapping Up
And that is all the information we gathered regarding our topic, “What are bed warmers?”
Nobody can handle a cold bed, so we hope that this article helped you one way or another.
Do you want to read more? Then this article might interest you.
Nevertheless, thank you for stopping by!