The State Bedroom

This room was originally the drawing room of the Serjeant-at-Arms whose residence adjoined that of the Speaker. It is a grand room with a fireplace at each end surmounted by a mirror, but its character is now that of a State Bedroom since it has become the home of the rediscovered State Bed.

A State Bedroom was provided when the Houses of Parliament were rebuilt because of the tradition that the monarch slept at the Palace of Westminster the night before the coronation in Westminster Abbey. The original State Bedroom on the first floor is marked on many early plans and a photograph of the bed was published in a book of 1906.

During the Second World War, however, the first floor was made into a separate flat for the Speaker and the bed was probably moved into a store, from where it was eventually sold and forgotten.

In January 1979, the Daily Telegraph published an article on the bed following a lecture given by the furniture historian Clive Wainwright in which the photograph of it was shown. As a result of this publicity the bed was rediscovered in a Welsh woollen mill. Through the initiative of Sir Robert Cooke, it was acquired in 1981 and restored for the nation by the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

The remaining furniture of tables and chairs reflect the current use of the room where smaller dinner parties may be held. The portrait of the Speaker from 1976 to 1983, George Thomas, hangs in this room, painted by George J D Bruce in 1979.

Photos by Mark Hazeldine