Antique 6ft Beds between £0 and £0
A bedstead about six feet across, the width now sold as super king, bought to sleep on with a modern mattress of that size.
What Is A 6ft Bed?
Width is the first thing the titles state, because width is what the buyer is shopping for. Six feet is modern super king, so an antique bed of that size takes a mattress you can still buy. Of 74 listings on Sellingantiques, 55 use the words "super king" and 54 say "size".
The category is dominated by metal. Brass, iron, or brass with iron, in the Victorian to Edwardian manner: 30 titles say brass, 20 say iron, and 30 call the piece Victorian, with "classic Victorian" used 15 times. Black paired with brass is a recurring note, sometimes described as aged brass. Bedsteads of this construction spread from the mid-19th century as an easily cleaned alternative to timber.
Below the decorated frames sits a run of plainer work: the "no end" bedstead, with head and foot at similar low height, and the straight rail, with a plain horizontal top. A French group of about a fifth brings painted, caned and upholstered beds, corbeille and demi corbeille shapes, lit bateau and Louis XV style caning. Timber four-posters account for roughly one in ten, in mahogany and in Anglo-Indian carved work, with one made throughout in brass.
Dating is loose. Of the 41 listings carrying a year, the range runs 1860 to 1930, with "1900s" and the label "Victorian" the two largest bands by a distance. Later work is thin: a few from the 1920s, fewer from the 1910s and 1930s. Two samples are labelled Georgian or around 1830, both timber posted beds, so anything pre-Victorian here arrives with posts. Headboards, some with bedside cabinets attached, turn up at this width as well.
Top And Bottom
Metal decides most of it. All-brass frames, nickel-plated brass, and four-posters in mahogany or walnut sit at the top of the range. Plain iron sits at the bottom, and the "no end" bedsteads sit with it. The same frame in brass and in iron is not the same purchase.
Then how much is going on. Titles reading "simple" or "no end" cluster low; Art Nouveau detail, Aesthetic style, a bow foot, or four posts cluster high. Timber and surface work the same way, with burr walnut, light walnut and original gilded paint work all appearing in higher-placed listings.
Two other things lift a bed. A maker's mark or a named workshop appears only in the upper part of the range. So do the words "rare" and "all original", which turn up from the middle upward rather than at the bottom.
Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for 6ft beds between £0 and £0, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
The pre-Victorian 6ft beds on Sellingantiques are all timber four posters, one of them Georgian and another dated about 1830.
The Antique 6ft Beds between £0 and £0 Glossary
- 6ft / super king
- Roughly six feet wide, the modern super king mattress width, and the measurement named in most titles in this category.
- No end bed
- A bedstead whose head and foot stand at similar low height, with no tall end panel above the mattress.
- Straight rail
- A bedstead with a plain horizontal top rail rather than an arched or shaped one.
- Brass and iron
- A frame combining iron members with brass rails, knobs or mounts. The commonest construction in this category.
- Corbeille
- A French bed with a curved, basket-shaped head and foot. Demi corbeille has the shape at one end only.
- Lit bateau
- French boat-shaped bed with ends that scroll outward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a modern mattress fit a 6ft antique bed?
Six feet is what is now sold as super king, and that correspondence is the reason these beds are listed by width first. Titles state the size before anything else.
Dealers on Sellingantiques describe them as sleeping furniture rather than decoration, which is why the measurement leads.
What are most 6ft antique beds made of?
Metal dominates. Brass, iron, or brass combined with iron, in frames of Victorian to Edwardian type, with black and brass a recurring pairing in the titles.
Timber appears mainly as four-posters, in mahogany and Anglo-Indian carved work. A smaller French group brings painted, caned and upholstered frames.
How old are these beds usually?
Of the listings carrying a clean year, the dated field runs from 1860 to 1930. The two largest groups are "1900s" and the general label "Victorian".
Later work exists but is thin, a scatter from the 1920s and single figures from the 1910s and 1930s.
Anything earlier than Victorian turns up as a timber posted bed.
Are there French beds at this width?
Yes, about a fifth of the category. They include corbeille and demi corbeille shapes, lit bateau, Louis XV style caned beds, and frames with hand painted or gilded paint work.
Upholstered examples appear in the same group.
What does a no end bed mean?
It's a bedstead with head and foot of similar low height, without a tall end panel. The phrase turns up repeatedly across the listings.
These sit at the lower end of the range, alongside the plain straight rail frames.
Do four posters come in 6ft width?
They do, at roughly one in ten listings, and they sit at the top of the range. Mahogany and Anglo-Indian carved examples appear, and one made throughout in brass.
Two of the timber posted beds are labelled Georgian or around 1830.