In earlier times beds were often warmed with bed-pans which were filled with hot charcoal or ashes. This would not only warm the bed up but would also get rid of some of the damp that was common in the days before central heating. Now that houses have central heating they do not suffer from damp as much as they used to but getting into bed in the winter can still be a cold and unpleasant experience. Because of this we still use ways of warming our beds, such as hot water bottles and electric blankets.

This Belling bedwarmer is made of metal and is consists of two shallow domes joined together. The bedwarmer is heated by a 40 watt light bulb. This also acts as a ‘power on’ indicator as it shines through a red panel - the hole in the centre of the bedwarmer. Manufacture of this style of bedwarmer began in 1939 but they proved so popular that they were made well into the sixties. This bedwarmer is pale mauve in colour which indicates it is from the sixties when they were produced in pastel shades; pre-war they were made only in cream.

Like a hot water bottle the Belling bedwarmer warms the spot it is in and the area around it. The handle on the side can be used not only for wrapping the flex round but also for moving the bedwarmer about in the bed to warm more of it in the way that old-fashioned bed-pans were used. Instructions that came with the bedwarmer warned that it should be removed from the bed when you got in.