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Harrison Spinks vs Flaxby Mattress Reviews

Compare Harrison Spinks and Flaxby mattresses side by side: owner satisfaction, support, durability and price, based on aggregated customer reviews.

Checked byBecky Reeve, Staff Writer, Mattress Expert
SourceCompiled from WantMattress review data

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Brand

Harrison Spinks

4.6/5Owners320 reviews
Price range£455 – £2,399
Brand

Flaxby

RatingNot yet scored
Price range£1,499 – £3,899

Only Harrison Spinks has enough owner reviews to score, so there is no head-to-head verdict here.

Becky’s take

By Becky Reeve

Checked against current models and prices in October 2026

These two come out of the same Yorkshire factory, and on firmness I'd send more people to Harrison Spinks than to Flaxby. Flaxby is what Harrison Spinks builds for Dreams. Under its own name, Harrison Spinks sells through Furniture Village and Mattress Online. Both are made to the standard that puts Harrison Spinks on my short list of makers worth the extra, so build quality won't separate them.

Firmness is where they differ. Most of the Flaxby range is firm and the 8150 goes to extra-firm, so if you're a heavy back sleeper or want a hard bed, buy the Flaxby. Harrison Spinks spreads from the soft-medium Alwoodley through the medium Collingham to the medium-firm Grassington, and an average-weight side sleeper wants one of those. Flaxby's only medium is the 16150.

Far more people have reviewed a Flaxby, and most of them bought the 4450 Pillow Top. I'd avoid it, because a quilted soft layer sinks before the springs do and can't be turned. Buy the Flaxby for a firm bed you can try at Dreams. Buy the Harrison Spinks for anything softer.

Head to head

Both ranges are sprung throughout, so the difference is in the comfort layers on top and in price. Harrison Spinks is the budget choice of the two: Flaxby's cheapest mattress costs several times as much. At the top end Flaxby goes further still. Flaxby doesn't have enough owner reviews with us yet to score fairly.

How they differ

Harrison SpinksFlaxby
Mattresses we list1910
Price range£455 – £2,399£1,499 – £3,899
Owner rating
4.6/5Owners320 reviews
Not enough reviews yet

Mattresses only. Owner ratings are the review-weighted average across each brand’s mattresses on UK retailer sites. Prices read 10 November 2026.

Harrison Spinks

Harrison Spinks is a generational family business that has captured the spirit of the entire hand-made portion of the industry thanks to their traditional materials and handcrafting excellence. The range is of a much higher quality than many competing brands and as a result the price point is typically found within the higher-end but the result is a bespoke nights sleep that will ooze excellence.

Flaxby

Flaxby is a natural mattress range handmade by Harrison Spinks in Yorkshire and sold through Dreams. Since October 2026 the mattresses are the Flaxby Natural range: wool, flax and hemp with pocket springs, with cotton, cashmere, mohair, alpaca, lambswool and silk on the dearer models, built without foam or glue.

The range comes in three kinds: single-sided flat mattresses, double-sided Dual Season models you can turn, and pillow tops with a fixed soft layer. Dreams sells the Dual Season models as having a warmer side and a cooler side, though on the Hempstead its own layer list puts the same wool and cotton blends on both faces.

Harrison Spinks owner satisfaction

Owners are mostly very happy with this brand which is quite impressive given the price point. Typically we find that when the price of mattresses starts to lead toward the high-end, customers' expectations can sometimes be distorted which results in a less-favourable experience. Thankfully that is mostly not the case here. Owners who bring up the price more often accept it than not, "A bit pricey but the quality reflects the price" as one wrote, though a few didn't think it was worth it, one calling theirs "nothing special for the price I paid". The natural fillings are a reason several give for buying. They can smell at first. That faded within days or weeks for some, but one owner said theirs "smells like a barn". Back pain gets mentioned both ways, with more owners saying theirs has eased than saying the mattress left them aching.

Harrison Spinks supportiveness

The support materials utilised in all Harrison Spinks products is a reliable pocket spring base layer. Pocket springs continue to be the best option for support, offering measured and reliable body contouring across the entire mattress and featuring edge to edge even support and roll together prevention.

Firmness within the range varies but has a pivot toward medium and medium firm tension mattresses all of which are made from luxurious materials and hand made in the UK. Interestingly, Harrison Spinks is the partner of choice for many of the sub-brands sold throughout the popular retailer. The result of this is a Flaxby & Feather and Black sub-division of quality mattresses that will be of equal interest to those looking for a good quality and highly rewarding nights sleep.

Harrison Spinks durability

I think the most important stat when it comes to durability is around the warranty and guarantee periods. After all, if the manufacturer doesn’t believe in their product, why would you? Thankfully you get a 5 year guarantee at minimum across the majority of products on show which comes fairly close to the average replacement period of 7 years for the industry as a whole.

Durability generally doesn’t look to be a concern going by the compounds used. In the reviews, several owners are repeat buyers, one writing “Had a Harrison before and very good for years hence why bought again”, while a small number say theirs softened or dipped within weeks or months.

Harrison Spinks best offers

We've managed to find the following top deals from across the web on Harrison Spinks mattresses.

  • Up to 55% Off Sale

Flaxby owner satisfaction

Owners of the earlier Flaxby range, the Masters Guild and Oxtons Guild mattresses that the Flaxby Natural models replaced, praised comfort and support most: “I have found it extremely comfortable and I get a good sleep”, and “Feels so supportive”. One noted that “the edges are very firmly sprung so if you sit on the bed to put your socks on, you don't slip off”.

Their complaints centred on the old pillow tops, the 4450 in particular, softening or dipping early: “after 6 months it dipped massively and became unbearably uncomfortable”. Others found the delivered mattress firmer than the one in the showroom, and a few noticed a natural-fibre smell, which one owner called “a bit ‘sheepy’”. Those reviews describe a different build, so read them as a guide to how Flaxby's natural fillings settle and smell, and judge the new models on their own construction.

Flaxby supportiveness

Every Flaxby Natural mattress sits on Harrison Spinks pocket springs. Dreams' layer diagrams describe the main spring layers as micro pocket springs, with thicker Cortec springs round the edge to firm up the border, and the three pillow tops add a Posturfil spring layer. The range leans firm. The Flaxmoor 2500 is Very Firm only and the Woolcroft 3500 Firm only, the Hempstead and Cashmere Vale come in Firm or Very Firm, and only the Silkstone, the Woolcroft Loft and the Alpaca Moor go softer than Medium Firm. Pick the grade by your weight first, then your position: heavier back and front sleepers go firmer, lighter and side sleepers softer.

Flaxby durability

Durability comes down to the fillings and whether you can turn the mattress. Natural fibres settle where you sleep, and Harrison Spinks' care guide calls body impressions a normal feature of handmade mattresses, so expect a gentle dip along your side of the bed and rotate it to share the wear. The three Dual Season models turn over as well, which is the build I'd choose for a long life. The pillow tops can't be turned, and a soft top only goes softer. The guarantee covers defects in construction or materials, repaired or replaced at the maker's discretion, and the care guide sets no dip depth that counts as a fault.

Flaxby best offers

We've managed to find the following top deals from across the web on Flaxby mattresses.

Owner reviews of Harrison Spinks mattresses

5 Johnh

I have had this mattress for 5 weeks now. When I first unpacked it, there was a slight smell for a day, but since then it hasn't smelt at all. (It smelt of canvas which I found quite pleasant actually!) It feels nice and soft each night when you first get on it, but then can feel it supporting you. I guess this is what is meant by a medium-firm mattress. (My old mattress was over 20 yrs old; if anything it would have been rated as very firm!) I have had no problem sleeping with this mattress, no aches or pains when waking up. It is recommended to rotate the mattress once per week for 12 weeks, so I am still doing that. It is easy to do using the handles on the side of the mattress. No depressions in the mattress have appeared, and it still feels just like new. Although we have already had both hot nights and cold ones, I have never felt too hot or cold due to the mattress (obviously the duvet used is also going to make a difference). Overall I am extremely satisfied with the mattress, and with mattressonline.

4 Helen

To be perfectly honest, I'm not convinced but I think the problem is me, not the product. The mattress is clearly very good quality, but it's a lot firmer than I was hoping for and expecting from the soft/medium description. On the spare bed, which is a fully sprung base, it works reasonably well, which is why I haven't yet engaged the 60 day return option, but on the bed I ordered it for originally, which is a solid Ottoman base, it is way too hard. I'm sure that with use it will soften up, but it's still way too hard for me personally to sleep on comfortably and I doubt it will ever be that soft. Indeed, in desperation I ended up going to a shop and buying a much cheaper (and far inferior quality), softer mattress because I simply couldn't do 30 days sleeping on that mattress. I am going to contact Mattress Online today and enquire about swapping it for something softer.

4 Dave

Good Points: Quality is obvious. If we hadn't had a tempur for over ten years, I would say this is a really comfy bed and would be happy for its life time use. Albeit, only five years gauranteed! Having had a tempur though, I would probably revert back. Mainly due to spouse requiring that extra softness and a complete awareness removal from any turn/roll movement by partner. While this is a fantastic make and constructed with the Best Materials, we have been served well with the tempur and too be honest, can say, there aren't any regrets with the purchase. Improvement Points: Comparing this to our tempur, it would be difficult to separate, based on the very different structures. That said, a longer guarantee period would be an advantage. Price for price - this would be a distinct advantage.

2 John

We tried the mattress in the shop and picked it over the medium/firm version. However when the mattress was delivered it was so firm it caused my partner hip pain. We contacted mattress inline via the 60 day sleep guarantee and they swapped it next day. The service was 5* and reason we buy all our mattresses via them. The new mattress is the medium firm and is super comfy even after the first night. Makes me think the first was faulty it was that hard and nothing like the shop one we tried.

1 Nigel K

The mattress smells like a farmyard, not natural, and has made our bedding smell as well as the bedroom. This is not the natural smell the company claims, there is something wrong with the mattress. We cannot have the mattress removed from our home or changed for another month as the company wants to send somebody to check the mattress, but they cannot visit us for the next four weeks. Do not ever buy a mattress from Harrison Spinks unless you enjoy your bedroom and bed linen smelling like you are sleeping in a barn on a farm.

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