A Guide to Medieval Fabrics

Medieval Fabrics: From Cottages to Castles — and Into Your Home Today

Medieval Britain was a world wrapped in cloth. From rough woollen blankets in cottages to glowing silks and tapestries in castles, fabrics weren’t just decoration — they were essential to comfort, warmth, and status. They softened stone walls, divided large draughty halls into intimate spaces, and displayed wealth through colour, pattern, and craftsmanship.

Today, medieval-style fabrics remain one of the most powerful ways to bring authenticity and atmosphere into period properties. Whether you live in a Tudor cottage, a Georgian townhouse, or a Victorian rectory, the textures and tones of medieval textiles can transform your interiors.

This guide explores how fabrics were used in medieval homes across the social scale, the materials and patterns that defined the era, and how you can use those same ideas to enrich your own rooms today.

Life in Fabric: How Textiles Shaped Medieval Homes

The Cottage Hearth

For most people, fabric meant survival. Wool from local sheep was spun, woven, and fulled into durable cloth that clothed the family, covered beds, and hung over doors to keep out draughts. Linen, though harder to produce, found its way into households as shirts, undergarments, and simple table linens.

Inside a one-room cottage, fabrics were humble but vital: blankets laid over benches, woollen cloth stretched to create partitions, or simple woven hangings softening plastered walls.

The Manor Hall

As wealth grew, fabrics became richer in both texture and colour. Manor houses and town dwellings introduced dyed woollens, finer linens, and imported cloths like fustian. Rooms were divided by fabric curtains, beds dressed with hangings, and embroidered cushions added comfort to oak settles.

Here, textiles were not only practical but also a sign of prosperity. Bright reds, greens, and blues brought warmth to otherwise muted interiors, while decorative embroidery revealed both skill and taste.

The Castle Chamber

At the top of society, fabric was spectacle. Castle or great hall walls were usually adorned with large tapestries showing biblical/historical stories or heraldic motifs. 

The National Trust, which is now responsible for many of the largest surviving medieval period properties in England, now restores and maintains many of these tapestries. For example a rare 15th century tapestry – the oldest in the National Trust collection – has recently returned to Montacute House after undergoing detailed conservation treatment at the National Trust Textile Conservation Studio in Norfolk. Conservators at the Studio spent a total of 1300 hours on documentation, cleaning and conservation stitching.

Beds were transformed into private chambers with rich canopies, hangings, and curtains. Silks, velvets, and cloth of gold announced authority and prestige. An interesting example, is the Great Bed of Ware, built in 1590 for an inn in Ware, Hertfordshire. Ware was a day's journey from London and a convenient overnight stop for travellers going to Cambridge University or further north. Guests carved their initials into the wood, or applied red wax seals to mark their night in the bed, still visible on the bedposts and headboard today. The best was large enough to accommodate up to 4 couples and is mention by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night (1601), where Sir Toby Belch jokes that even a sheet of paper could be “big enough for the Bed of Ware.”

Portable textiles — hangings, cushions, carpets — travelled with noble households from castle to castle, turning bare rooms into richly layered environments.

Fabrics of the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages saw remarkable variety in fabrics, each serving different functions.

  • Wool was everywhere: versatile, warm, and available in qualities from coarse blanket cloth to fine dyed worsteds.

  • Linen was used for underlayers and domestic cloths, valued for its strength and coolness.

  • Silk and brocade were luxury imports, woven with complex patterns and sometimes shot through with gold or silver thread.

  • Tapestries acted as both insulation and art, telling stories in vivid colour.

  • Embroidery added detail to cushions, wall hangings, and vestments, often incorporating heraldic or religious motifs.

👉 For your home today, these same categories still work: wool and linen for versatile practicality, brocades for statement pieces, and tapestries for drama.

Medieval Fabrics in the Modern Home

Bringing medieval textiles into a twenty-first-century home doesn’t mean turning it into a museum. Instead, it’s about using fabric to add warmth, depth, and a sense of history.

Here are ways to adapt medieval style for period properties:

  • Curtains and drapery: Heavy woollens or brocades make beautiful statement curtains. They insulate as well as decorate, just as they did centuries ago.

  • Wall hangings: A tapestry or large textile instantly creates atmosphere in a stairwell, dining hall, or converted barn.

  • Upholstery: Cover oak benches, settles, or reproduction chairs in patterned cloth to add both comfort and authenticity.

  • Soft furnishings: Cushions, throws, and bedcovers in medieval colours and motifs bring history into daily life in a subtle way.

  • Colour schemes: Deep reds, forest greens, lapis blues, and touches of gold provide instant medieval drama while suiting modern interiors.

Inspiration for Period Properties

  • Tudor cottages: Simple woollen cloths in warm colours, linen runners on tables, and a tapestry over the fireplace.

  • Georgian and Victorian homes: Tall windows dressed in medieval-inspired brocades, with rich runners and cushions to carry the theme.

  • Modern spaces: A single tapestry or embroidered panel as a focal point, paired with neutral furnishings.

The beauty of medieval fabrics is their adaptability: they can be layered for historic authenticity or used sparingly for subtle character.

Choosing Medieval Fabrics Today

When selecting fabrics for your project, think in terms of weight, colour, and pattern:

  • Heavy weaves for curtains and hangings.

  • Lighter cloths for cushions and covers.

  • Patterns with heraldic motifs, gothic florals, or bold geometry for authenticity.

  • Jewel tones and earthy hues to echo medieval pigments.

👉 Explore our Medieval Fabric Collection to see reproduction wools, linens, and brocades inspired by centuries of craftsmanship.

A Timeless Look

Medieval interiors were strong and simple at their core, but it was fabric that gave them life: softening stone, warming chambers, and displaying colour and identity. That layered richness still appeals today.

By weaving medieval textiles into your own rooms — whether through a dramatic wall hanging, a pair of brocade curtains, or a scattering of woollen cushions — you can capture that timeless mix of comfort and grandeur.