SHH Tribute to Peter Keen 1944

Peter Keen, the chairman of British bedmaker Hypnos, and a leading figure within the bed industry and husband of SHH Commitee Member Judy Keen has passed away at the age of 81 on the 29th July 2025. The family have requested donations in his memory to be made to SHH - Speen Helping Hospices and you can DONATE HERE at the MuchLoved website below

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The MuchLoved site has a tribute to Peter Keen, who was born on April 28, 1944 and sadly died on 29th July 2025 surrounded by his wife and children. He was much loved by so many and will always be remembered for his humour, kindness and larger than life character.

A Celebration of his life was held on Friday 17th October 2025 at 1.00pm to 4.00pm at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Fieldhouse Lane, Marlow, Bucks SL7 1G. Afternoon tea and drinks were served. Over 200 people attended this afternoon tribute to Peter.

£5,095.00 Raised so far in memory of Peter

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Peter was always keen to help out at SHH fundraising events. This would involve setting up and clearing away before and after and at several Annual SHH Christmas Markets collecting entry money from visitors . Pictured above is Peter in action at the 2023 and 2024 Christmas Markets and taking part in SHH Quiz Nights in 2022 and 2025

Hypnos have permitted the display of SHH event boards at their showroom in Longwick Road, Princes Risborough for several years.The company was also one of the Golf Prize sponsors at SHH Charity Golf Day at Burnham Beeches Golf Club Wednesday 15th March 2023. Peter Keen was an enthusiastic player and enjoyed playing in the Speen and North Dean matches.

On May 2025 The Furniture Makers’ Company is the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishings industry presented Peter presented with their Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the British bed and furniture industry.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to a leader who has devoted their life to the furtherment of the furnishing industry and left an indelible mark on the trade. Peter was presented the award by the Lord Mayor, the Rt Honourable Alderman Alastair King DL, and Debbie Johnson, the newly installed Master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, at The Mansion House, London on Monday 12 April 2025. More information here

Celebrating the Life of Hypnos Chairman, Peter Keen

Peter Keen spent 58-years as director and chairman of British bed-maker Hypnos, as a staunch figure of the bed industry, and supporter of the local community. He will be fondly remembered for his strong character, determination, kindness and capacity for fun. Peter sadly died on 29th July 2025, aged 81, surrounded by his family.

The Keen family would like to sincerely thank everyone who has been in touch with flowers and messages of condolence and stories of Peter, it has been greatly appreciated at a difficult time.

If you would like to share your experiences of Peter, you can do so via the link provided below. The family have asked that there be no flowers but if you would like to make a donation, please dedicate to Speen Helping Hospices who were a great support. https://peter-keen-1944-2025.muchloved.com/.

Source: Big Furniture Group

Peter Keen dies aged 81

Peter Keen, Hypnos chairman and the man responsible for transforming the family-owned bed manufacture died on 29 July. He was 81.

On behalf of the Keen family and the Hypnos team,

‘It is with very great sadness that we announce the passing of Peter Keen, the much-loved chairman of British bedmaker Hypnos, and a leading figure within the bed industry. A great advocate for the business he inherited in his early thirties, Hypnos’ successes at that time, and the brand’s legacy today, were greatly influenced by the hospitality partnerships Peter introduced, and the many close relationships with retailers and suppliers formed over his 58-years as a director and chairman,’ says a Keen family and Hypnos statement

‘He will be remembered for his strong character, sense of fun, and broad experience. A determined initiator of change, Peter transformed the business to a £60m turnover global brand; and represented the industry on key issues with both the NBF, BFM and The Furniture Makers’ Company. Peter also enjoyed supporting numerous community ventures, charities and conservation groups within Buckinghamshire, with a genuine interest and commitment to its rich furniture-making heritage.

‘Peter was always very aware and incredibly proud of what individuals and the team at Hypnos achieved. Indeed, the sense of family within the company today, owes great thanks to his generous, playful nature, and time spent with people in every area of the business.

‘Always passionate about the company’s relationship with the royal households, he was delighted to see our reappointment, after 96 years, with a Royal Warrant from His Majesty The King. Over the last few months, he was greatly honoured to host a royal visit to the Hypnos factory, and in May, to have been recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award by his friends and peers at The Furniture Makers Company.

‘Recently celebrating his 81st birthday, Peter remained ‘Chairman (soon to be retired)’ right up to the end, a beloved husband to Judith, father to James, Sarah and Rick and much-loved grandfather. The Hypnos board and whole team offer their condolences to the Keen family and their friends that knew Peter at this very sad time.’

Keen is pictured with wife Judith, and children Rick, James and Sarah after receiving his Lifetime Achievement Award from The Furniture Makers Company at Mansion House earlier this year.

Source: Interiors Monthly

Remembering Peter Keen, Hypnos' Chairman and fourth generation company owner - Jul 31 2025

On behalf of the Keen Family and the Hypnos Team, it is with very great sadness that we announce the passing of Peter Keen, the much-loved Chairman of British bedmaker, Hypnos, and a leading figure within the bed industry.

A great advocate for the family-owned PeterKeenPLaceholder1.jpgbusiness Peter inherited in his early thirties, Hypnos’ successes at that time, and the brand's legacy today, were greatly influenced by the hospitality partnerships he introduced and the many close relationships he formed with retailers and suppliers over his fifty-eight years as a director and chairman.

He will be remembered for his strong character, sense of fun, and broad experience. A determined initiator of change, Peter transformed the business to a £60m turnover global brand, and represented the industry on key issues with both the NBF, BFM and The Furniture Makers’ Company. Peter also enjoyed supporting numerous community ventures, charities and conservation groups within Buckinghamshire, with a genuine interest and commitment to its rich furniture-making heritage.

Peter was always very aware and incredibly proud of what individuals and the team at Hypnos achieved. Indeed, the sense of family within the company today owes great thanks to his generous, playful nature and time spent with people in every area of the business.

Always passionate about the company's relationship with the Royal households, he was delighted to see our reappointment, after 96 years, with a Royal Warrant from His Majesty The King. Over the last few months, he was greatly honoured to host a Royal visit to the Hypnos factory, and in May, to have been recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award by his friends and peers at The Furniture Makers Company.

Peter Keen with wife Judith, and children Rick James and Sarah, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’, The Furniture Makers Company, Mansion House

Recently celebrating his 81st birthday, Peter remained ‘Chairman (soon to be retired)’ right up to the end, a beloved husband to Judith, father to James, Sarah and Rick and much-loved grandfather.

The Hypnos board and whole team offer their condolences to the Keen family and their friends who knew Peter at this very sad time.

Source: Hypnos

Celebrating the Life of Hypnos Chairman, Peter Keen 1944- 2025

The Keen family would like to sincerely thank everyone who has been in touch with flowers and messages of condolence and stories of Peter, it has been greatly appreciated at a difficult time.

A celebration of his life will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Marlow on the afternoon of Friday 17th October 2025 which is open to all those who knew him. We would kindly request that those wishing to attend RSVP via the link below so numbers can be managed.

Friday 17th October 2025, 1.00pm – 4.00pm Crowne Plaza Hotel, Fieldhouse Lane, Marlow SL7 1GJ RSVP by 26th September: https://www.hypnosbeds.com/uk/RSVP-Celebrating-The-Life-of-Peter-Keen

Afternoon tea and drinks will be served

Whilst this is a sad occasion, Peter lived a life very much full of fun and colour, therefore in the spirit of Peter, the wearing of black is optional and a splash of colour is welcomed from those in attendance.

Source: Commercial Interiors UK

From chairmaker to mattress-maker, the career of Mr Hypnos, Peter Keen - Bucks Free Press - 18th October 2025

PERHAPS best known as the Chairman and Managing Director of the company Hypnos Ltd, Peter began his career with the family company G H & S Keen who were one of the leading furniture manufacturers in High Wycombe -

Early life: Peter was born on April 28, 1944 at The Willows Maternity Home, High Wycombe.

His parents were Sidney George John Keen and Mary nee Crookenden, who had married on March 10, 1937; a daughter Mary was born in 1939.

His father, who used the first name George, served in the British Army during WWII, attaining the rank of Captain, before returning to the firm G H & S Keen after the war.

At that time the family lived in New Road, Booker, near to The Turnpike, before moving to Hillingdon House at the top of Marlow Hill, now opposite the John Hampden School.

After primary school, Peter went to the Royal Grammar School (RGS), which he left after obtaining one ‘O level’.

He was not academically minded, his final grammar school report stating such as: German – ‘he tries hard and one can only hope’ Physics - ‘he’s just not interested'.

A contemporary of Peter’s at the RGS has said that even in his schoolboy days he knew he would be running the family business, G H & S Keen.

It was always a source of pride to Peter that he went on to have a highly successful career with just one O level, and he even considered at one time setting up a ‘club’ for such people.

Peter left the RGS in 1961 to study on a three year Furniture Production and Management course at Wycombe College Further Education.

Whilst at the college he was elected President of the Students Union, a clear indication of his talent for managing people.

He also first met his future wife Judith Mulroy, who was also a student at the College.

They eventually married, at Judith’s home village of Woburn Sands, on April 17, 1971.

Peter also joined Wycombe Young Conservatives and was elected to their management committee in February 1963.

A year later he was chosen to give the Vote of Thanks to the speaker at a meeting, when the talk was about golf and included ‘demonstrating several of the shots during the lecture’.

The family firm: The firm of G H Keen & Son was founded by George Keen and his son Sidney Ralph Keen in 1908.

George was 46 at the time and had been a chairmaker all his working life.

Sidney was his eldest son born in 1885, and in 1906 he married Rosa Hanah Williams, an event which was to open a new era for the family. Rosa was a daughter of John Williams, who had his own chairmaking factory in Richardson Street, High Wycombe, and he agreed to provide financial assistance to his new son-in-law and his father to establish their own operation.

Initially the new company operated out of a workshop at No. 27 Baker Street, before moving to premises in Frogmoor in about 1911.

Judging from job advertisements in the Bucks Free Press the company was soon expanding, manufacturing the ‘highest classes of antique and modern furniture’.

George died on June 22, 1926, and the firm continued to use its original name.

In that same year a new factory was built at the Frogmoor site, which was later further expanded.

During World War 2 the company manufactured components for the Mosquito aircraft, 150 employees were engaged on that work.

Sidney Ralph retired from the business in 1954, ‘handing over the reigns’ to his son, Sidney George John Keen who was appointed Chairman and Managing Director.

His son Peter Keen, the fourth generation Keen, succeeded his father following his death on August 13, 1980.

Peter joins Keen’s: Peter had joined the family firm in 1962 and the following year was one of three employees of Keen’s who ‘won major awards presented by the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers’ His award was a scholarship of £100.

In 1965 Peter was in a ‘spot of bother’ when he turned into the path of another vehicle at the junction of the High Street and Easton Street. He admitted the offence when questioned by a police officer at the scene. At a court hearing on April 6 he was fined £15 for driving without due care. Such an incident is almost a ‘right of passage’ for many new drivers.

In February 1967 Peter, who was now Sales Director of G H & S Keen, met Queen Elizabeth II for the first time when he accompanied his father to a reception at London’s Guildhall to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Royal Warrant Holders Association.

Peter was involved in another car accident in April 1968. This time he was blameless, being a passenger in a car which ‘went off the road, struck a bank and overturned in Chorley Road, West Wycombe’. He sustained a serious injury to his spine and was in Wycombe Hospital for several weeks. After recovering from these injuries, Peter began to play a more prominent role in the local furniture industry.

He was instrumental in establishing The Chiltern Training Group of local companies who shared the services of a full-time Training Officer, and was appointed Chairman of the group. The Group was comprised of seven local companies, which in addition to Keen’s included Glenister’s, Howland’s and Hands, a total of about 800 employees.

Peter demonstrated his interest in the welfare of employees of the Wycombe furniture industry in another way too.

He was a prominent member of the District Furnishing Trades Benevolent Association and in September 1969 organised the annual ball. This was held at the Bell House Hotel, near Beaconsfield, about 150 people attended and over £200 raised for charity. First prize in the draw was a Ford Escort vehicle.

Keen’s diversification and acquisition: Driven mainly by Peter’s influence Keen’s now began to expand by diversification and acquisition. In October 1971 the Wycombe firm of H H Smith & Son was acquired and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Keen’s. Smith’s speciality was the manufacture of contract furniture.

Then Keen’s diversified further through a collaborative arrangement with bed-makers W S Toms, whose factory was in Totteridge Road, by establishing the ‘Keen and Toms Partnership’.

Peter, who was still Sales Director of G H & S Keen, was then appointed Managing Director of both of the new operations, Smiths and being Chairman.

The W S Toms operation was eventually taken over by Keens, Peter being joint Managing Director with his father.

In May 1975 they received the news that a Royal Warrant had been awarded by the Queen Mother for their Hypnos bedding, the name being then just a brand. Peter was the Grantee, this being passed on to him by his father. This meant that a Royal Warrant had been held continuously since 1929.

Another Royal Warrant was awarded in January 1981, this time as suppliers of bedding to the Queen. This has continued up to the present, with the Royal Warrant being awarded by H M King Charles in December 2024, when he grantee was Peter’s son James.

When the Warrant was awarded in 1975, it was reported that the company had been expanding rapidly over the last five years, with export sales increasing. Wycombe General Hospital had just been equipped completely with their mattresses.

Move to Princes Risborough: Peter’s father died on August 13, 1980, Peter having succeeded him as Managing Director earlier that year. The Keen and Toms companies were now expanding rapidly and outgrowing their factory accommodation in High Wycombe.Peter decided that new premises were required and acquired the ex-Goodearl-Risboro ‘Whiteleaf’ site in Station Road, Princes Risborough.

At this time a new range of furniture was also launched, the ‘Town and Country Pine’ brand. This featured a collection of over 40 pieces of period-style solid pine furniture, which was made in Denmark, with the upholstery carried out using English fabrics.

Somewhat controversially, in January 1988 the managing director of rival company G-Plan, Richard Young, joined the Keen & Toms Partnership as sales director. Commenting on his new appointment he told the Bucks Free Press “This is a super set-up – a furniture and bedding manufacturer with a great tradition, able to offer really excellent products and service, and run by a team of experienced people who actually know what they are about”.

Peter then took the decision to combine the Keen and Keen & Toms company names into one company, Hypnos Ltd (the name which had previously been just a brand-name for mattresses). He became Chairman & Managing Director and immediately set about recruiting a Financial Director.

The renaming of the company paid off quickly, with new accounts like John Lewis and their first large contract-bed account with Trust House Forte.

In 1995 the old Toms factory in Totteridge Road, High Wycombe, was closed and the operation moved to Princes Risborough. The total investment involved was around £500,000, Peter commenting “This means that Hypnos will be centralising production on one site, which makes excellent sense for everyone involved with the company”.

The 1990s was an eventful decade for the company. Peter had come to the conclusion that as more and more furniture was being made from materials other than wood and being manufactured overseas, the company should focus on beds, the production of which was still in the UK. By the end of the decade (and century!) it was clear that this policy had paid off, the Princes Risborough factory had reached capacity.

The decision was then made to open a factory dedicated to contract orders, this was at Long Eaton in Derbyshire. This allowed the Risborough factory to concentrate on the retail business with room to expand production. However this business expanded rapidly so in 2010 the factory moved to a new site in the town, in Longwick Road.

The contract business was so successful that a move to a larger factory in Castle Donington took place in 2014. Ever an entrepreneur, Peter saw another opportunity the following year, and set up a new company Keen & Able, a home-delivery business for mattresses and beds for Hypnos and other bed manufacturers.

By 2019 the company was employing close to 600 people, with a turnover of £67m. But then Covid struck, having a major negative impact on the company and forcing a rethink of the business strategy. In 2022 it was decided to consolidate the operations and premises at Princes Risborough, and concentrate on the core business of designing and making mattresses.

Peter’s national achievements: The success of the company under Peter’s leadership of over 50 years has been due to not only his entrepreneurial drive and his energy, but also due to his high standing in the furniture and bed industries. This has been recognised by those industries through the award to him of Lifetime Achievement Awards.

2014 National Bed Federation

2018 British Contract Furniture Association

2025 Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers.

Peter’s voluntary work: Throughout his long career Peter found the time to be actively involved with many different voluntary activities.

Right from the beginning one of his main interests has been the Furnishing Trades Benevolent Association, which he first supported in the mid-1960s, becoming Chairman in 1970. He was also the first Chairman of the British Furniture Manufacturers Young Professionals Industry Experience Scheme, which was established in 1974. He was twice elected President of the Windsor Royal Warrant Holders, in 1980 and 1991.

In 2001 he was made a Master of City Livery for The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers. He was appointed President of the National Bed Federation for a three year term from 2006. Also in that year, he was made a Trustee and Chairman of the Bucks Community Foundation Fund Development Group. In 2010 he was appointed Chairman of the Risborough Area Partnership and was a founder member of the Princes Risborough Rotary Club.

For many years he helped with Bucks Vision, who help to support people through all the stages and severity of sight loss, providing chauffeur-driven (he was the chauffeur!) transport, a duty he loved. He was also a part of a group in High Wycombe called "The Guarantors", who every year organise a lunch for local pensioners. Members of the group provide transport to the venue and do all the cooking and serving of the meal and organise entertainment for afterwards. They also fund the event. Peter also enjoyed a round of golf, when he had the time!

Source: The Keen Family and Bucks Free Press

More about Hypnos:

Hypnos: A Complete History Of The Luxury Bed Maker - Ward Brothers - Doncaster

The history of Hypnos - 1930s to 1970s - Bucks Free Press

About Hypnos Handcrafted in buckinghamshire 120 years of bed-making excellence

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