From a Wheelbarrow to Essex's Largest Independent Bed Specialist
The Pronto Bed Company has been helping families in Essex and Hertfordshire sleep better since 1932. What started as a one-man upholstery business in a small Hertfordshire village is now a fourth-generation, family-run bed specialist with a 10,000 sq ft showroom in Harlow dedicated exclusively to beds.
Over more than 90 years, four generations of the Monks and Worrell family have moved, grown and reinvented the business. One thing has never changed: honest advice and a belief that you shouldn't have to wait for a good night's sleep. This is the story of how Pronto Beds came to be.
1932: Walter Monks Starts It All in Albury
The story begins in 1932 with Walter Monks in the village of Albury, on the Hertfordshire–Essex border. A pig farmer by trade, Walter started an upholstery business from his home. He collected customers' furniture, restored it, and delivered it back — by wheelbarrow.
It was hard, hands-on work. But it set the standard the family still trades on today: do the job properly, look after your customers, and tell them the truth.
1950s: The First Shop in Stansted
In the 1950s, the second generation — Walter Monks (son) and his wife Patricia — moved the upholstery business to Stansted and opened the family's first official shop.
Together they built a reputation for quality, and the business grew from upholstery into a true high-street furniture specialist trading as Monks Furnishers. One branch of the family still runs Monks Upholstery to this day.
1982: Harlow's First Warehouse-Style Shop
Under Walter's leadership, the business moved on to Sawbridgeworth and then, in 1982, to Harlow. There it became the very first warehouse-style shop to open in the town.
The move gave the family the space to hold far more stock than a typical high-street store. More than 44 years later, the business is still in Harlow and has become a local landmark.
2005: Pronto Beds Is Born — "Take the Wait Out of Wanting"
In 2005 the family made its boldest decision yet: to specialise exclusively in beds. At the time, customers across the industry could wait up to six months for a new bed to arrive.
Walter believed that was simply too long. If you need a bed, you should have it pronto. So he invested in around £500,000 of stock so customers could take their bed home, or have it delivered, without the long wait. His motto, "Take the wait out of wanting", gave the new business its name and its promise.
That focus on holding large stock levels is still at the heart of the business today.
The Third and Fourth Generations: Debbie and Ted Worrell
Walter's daughter, Debbie Worrell, then took the reins. She kept Pronto Beds rooted in the Harlow community, and her era saw the arrival of the familiar yellow Pronto Bed Co branding. Above all, she made sure honesty and good service stayed at the heart of the showroom.
In 2018, Debbie's son Edward (Ted) Worrell left his career as a plasterer to return to the family business as the fourth generation. Ted has refreshed the brand with new grey livery on the delivery vans, opened an online store, and grown Pronto Beds into a bespoke bed specialist. Customers can now customise their bed's size, storage, headboard and fabric. The approach is the same one his great-grandfather started with: tell people the honest truth about what they need, even when it isn't the most expensive option.
What 90 Years of Experience Means for You Today
Four generations in the bedding industry show up in practical ways when you visit or order:
A showroom just for beds. The 10,000 sq ft Harlow showroom is the largest specialist bed collection in the area, so you can try before you buy.
Big stock, short waits. Holding large stock is still how Pronto keeps its founding promise of getting beds to customers quickly.
Trusted brands. Pronto stocks names including Mammoth, Harrison Spinks, Siesta, Highgrove, Espoir, Dura, Deluxe Beds and the Pronto Beds Collection. It is also one of only seven Mammoth Excel showrooms in the UK.
Honest, no-pressure advice. The team's job is to find the bed that's right for your body and budget, not to upsell you.
A 40 Night Comfort Guarantee. If your new mattress doesn't feel right after 40 nights, Pronto will exchange it.
Free local delivery and assembly across Harlow, Epping, Bishop's Stortford, Sawbridgeworth, Ware, Hertford, Broxbourne and surrounding areas, with low-cost delivery further afield in Essex, Hertfordshire and north London.
