When we test it out the Highgrove Brixton Pocket Sprung Mattress, it was selling for £569 in the double size, with the king size just £30 extra and the single size just £24 cheaper. 

The king size was for sale for £689. My immediate thought was that this works out much better value if you go for a king or super king then if you go for a single version.

Testing out the firmness rating for different sleeping positions

I began with my favoured sleeping position, which is sleeping on my front. For me, the mattress felt ever so slightly too firm for my tastes. I could live with it, but it wouldn’t be my ideal . I’m 13 stone and I’m about six foot tall, for reference purposes. The general rule is that lighter people need softer mattresses then heavier people. 

I then moved on to my side and found it was pretty close to what I would want from a mattress as a side sleeper. I felt supported, but didn’t feel like I was just lying on top of the mattress. 

Finally, I moved onto my back and felt quite comfortable. I slipped my hand underneath my spine with only a little effort. Generally, if it’s very hard work to get your hand underneath your back, then the mattress is a bit too soft for you. If it’s very easy to get your hand underneath or if there is a gap underneath your spine then you aren’t getting adequate support, and it’s as if you are just lying on top of the mattress as if it were a wooden board.

Motion transfer on the Highgrove Brixton Pocket Sprung Mattress

In case you aren’t aware, motion transfer affects how much you feel each other moving when you get in or out of bed, or when you shuffle around in the night.

After testing out the Highgrove Brixton Pocket Sprung Mattress, I would say that it performed relatively well. There was certainly some motion transfer – the mattress has something of a bounce to it, which is not surprising on a pocket sprung mattress – but I wouldn’t say it has a great deal of side wobble. A wobble is what can make you feel uncomfortable or as if you are sleeping on a ship.

Edge firmness and support

The edge support on this mattress is a little unusual and his advertised as being one of its key features.

It feels to me as though a solid ridge has been placed around the edge of the mattress to enhance the strength right to the edges. This does have some effect and stops the very edges from compressing too much, but I did found it to be something of a noticeable ridge rather than natural strength achieved through it being a particularly strong mattress throughout.

Final thoughts on the Highgrove Brixton Pocket Sprung Mattress

For the money, this seems like a very decent mattress. The comfort, of course, will depend on your own weight and build but I was impressed with the overall construction.

I also like the fact that this is double-sided. There is a school of thought that this is much less relevant than it used to be, as many modern mattresses are designed to be single sided.

However, I still have quite old fashioned views of pocket spring mattresses and have personally found that if you do remember to turn them over regularly then they tend to last a bit longer if they are double-sided. I haven’t done any academic studies into this but it does feel as though there might be some logic to this. 

The pocket spring count is also good for the money. 1500 springs is a good rating, and whilst it doesn’t have flashy layers of microsprings and complicated technology, it does the basics very well and that’s really what you’ll notice most of in a mattress. 

The inclusion of some natural materials (most notably wool) is a good one and should help with temperature regulation at night. 

Finally, the 10 year warranty is very impressive for a mattress of this price. You’ll see 10 year warranties offered on a lot of foam mattresses but pocket spring mattresses tend to be slightly less generous, so 10 years on a cheaper mattress is very impressive.