Built by Hertfordshire carpenter Jonas Fosbrooke about 1590, the bed measures 3.38m long and 3.26m wide (ten by eleven feet)[2] and can "reputedly... accommodate at least four couples".

Like many objects from that time, the bed is carved with patterns from European Renaissance art.

The design of the marquetry panels is derived from the work of Dutch artist Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527–1604) and the panels were probably made by English craftsmen working in London in the late Elizabethan period.

In 1870, William Henry Teale, the owner of the Rye House, acquired the bed and put it to use in a pleasure garden.

[5] The bed, which has been described as "one of the most famous pieces of furniture in history",[6] has been referenced by writers since shortly after it was made:[7]