Erddig's State Bed

Visiting the state bed  

Due to important conservation and maintenance work, the house route and rooms open will vary throughout the year. 

What is Erddig’s State Bed project?

At the top of the stairs overlooking the estate you’ll find Erddig’s State Bedroom, a place once used to accommodate the home’s most distinguished guests.

The bedroom is adorned in a beautiful hand painted Chinese wallpaper and holds a rare surviving bed known as a lit a duchesse or ‘angel’ tester bed dating from 1720.

The bed was hung with delicate Chinese embroidered silk satin textiles; a bed cover and valances, a tester with valances and curtains, all in original white silk, embroidered with Chinese figures, pagodas, birds and flowers.

However, by 1968 the bed was in a severe state of deterioration following decades of coal mining subsidence that caused water ingress directly onto the bed. It was rescued from near dereliction by London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. Since its installation back at Erddig in 1977, the bed has remained untouched, except for a minor intervention in 1995.

Unfortunately, more recent condition reports once again highlighted its poor condition with the 1968 treatment failing. As a result, in 2018 the National Trust team began their eight-year conservation project to restore the bed, generously funded by The Wolfson Foundation.

A story of survival

Extensive conservation work to restore the State Bed began in 2018.  

The bed was disassembled, with different elements – including the curtains, valances and cornices – sent in stages to the National Trust’s Textile Conservation Studio in Norfolk. Some pieces were sent to the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio in Knole. The headboard was worked on in situ. 

In late 2025, after years of careful and specialised restoration to stabilise and protect its fragile textiles and fittings, work to reassemble the bed began. It is now back on public display, with its richly detailed structure and newly conserved curtains fully revealed. 

While visitors may have seen the bed in different stages over the years, conservation work has now preserved and enhanced the exquisite detail that, in the past, only those fortunate enough to sleep in the bed would have experienced. 

The bed’s beautifully embroidered bed cover remains on display in the Print Room opposite and will be reunited with the bed at a later date. 

State bed coverlet

The state bed cover, crafted from silk satin, features intricate embroidery with delicate peacocks in each of the four corners, complemented by flowers and grapes along the edges. Over time, the original silk has become extremely fragile, suffering from losses and holes, leaving only strands of the weft in many areas. Despite the wear, much of the beautiful embroidery has remarkably survived.  

Until recently, the bed cover was believed to be made entirely of Chinese silk. However, vital conservation work at the National Trust Textile Conservation Studio has revealed that this treasured bed cover is composed of a mixture of design, materials and techniques from around the world including Welsh and British fabrics.   

Volunteer research has discovered the bed cover’s intriguing make-up is a result of careful repair work done by Louisa Yorke, the wife of Philip Yorke II, just after the First World War. As household spending declined and the number of servants at Erddig reduced, the Yorkes dedicated themselves to preserving the house and its contents. Mrs. Yorke spent her time patching the damaged cover using materials likely found around the home. Unusually, she documented her efforts in a journal, noting how others assisted her with the repairs. On 18 August 1919, she wrote: ‘My guests are all most obliging. We spent over an hour in the state room putting pieces into the worn places of the beautiful Chinese drapery.’  

Susanne Gronnow, Erddig’s Property Curator says ‘Thankfully, Mrs Yorke recognised the historical significance of the state bed. Without the dedication of Mrs. Yorke and her friends over a century ago, this important bed would not have survived for us to see today.’  

Visitors to Erddig can now see the intricate details of the bed cover up close, in the new exhibition in the property's Print Room. This is a unique opportunity to view these details like never before, so be sure to plan your visit to experience this rare display in person.  

The route through the house may change, affecting the opening dates and times of the Print Room.