Welcome to our top 10 notable roster of Broadmoor Hospital’s most infamous occupants. This high‑security psychiatric facility in Crowthorne, Berkshire, has housed a parade of notorious figures since its doors opened in 1863. Below, we count down the ten individuals whose crimes, quirks, and courtroom drama have made headlines for decades.
10 Peter Bryan
Peter Bryan earned a grisly reputation as one of London’s most infamous cannibals. In February 2004, police forced entry into a Walthamstow flat only to find Bryan standing in the hallway, his clothes splattered with blood. The dismembered corpse of Brian Cherry lay on the carpet, while a small portion of meat sizzled in a pan on the stove. When questioned, Bryan chillingly confessed, “I ate his brain with butter; it was really nice.” This gruesome act was far from his first; he had a prior murder record and would go on to kill again.
His violent tendencies surfaced early. At 18, a neighbour’s altercation that required police intervention foreshadowed future horrors. In 1993, after being caught stealing, Bryan was dismissed from his job. He returned to the shop wielding a claw hammer, brutally killing 20‑year‑old Nisha Sheth, the owner’s daughter, in front of her younger brother. Though he later served time in a psychiatric facility, he was deemed fit for release—only to murder Brian Cherry that very night.
Bryan later admitted that, had he not been intercepted, he would have continued his killing spree, claiming he “wanted their souls.” Sent to Broadmoor, his murderous urges persisted. In April 2004, he assaulted fellow inmate Richard Loudwell in the dining hall, declaring, “I wanted to kill him and then eat him. I didn’t have much time. If I did, I’d have tried to cook him and eat him.” Consequently, he now spends the remainder of his life under the strictest security at Broadmoor.
9 Graham Young
Graham Frederick Young, forever nicknamed the “Teacup Poisoner,” became obsessed with lethal chemicals from a tender age. Born in Neasden, North London, he began experimenting with poisons at 14, deliberately contaminating food to make family members violently ill. By purchasing antimony and digitalis in small, seemingly innocuous quantities—while masquerading his motives as school science projects—he amassed a deadly arsenal.
In 1962, his stepmother Molly succumbed to poisoning. Young had also been covertly drugging his father, sister, and a school friend. His aunt Winnie, sensing something amiss, raised the alarm. Though he tried to feign illness alongside his victims, occasional memory lapses revealed his true intent. A psychiatrist, upon reviewing the case, urged police involvement. Young was arrested on May 23, 1962, confessing to attempted murders of his father, sister, and friend. Because his stepmother’s body had been cremated, forensic evidence was unavailable.
Sentenced to 15 years at Broadmoor, Young was released after nine years, declared “fully recovered.” Yet his dark pursuits resumed. Employed as a storekeeper at John Hadland Laboratories, he slipped poisonous substances into tea for his colleagues. The resulting illness, initially misdiagnosed as a viral outbreak and dubbed the “Bovingdon Bug,” affected roughly 70 individuals, though none died. Young’s reign of terror concluded with his death in prison in 1990, and his story inspired the cult classic film The Young Poisoner’s Handbook.
8 Kenneth Erskine
Kenneth Erskine, infamously dubbed the “Stockwell Strangler,” terrorised London’s elderly in 1986. Over a short span, he broke into seven homes, strangling each victim—some of whom also endured sexual assault. Though only 24, his mental age was assessed at roughly 12, reflecting severe developmental impairment. Police suspect he may have been involved in four additional murders, but he has never faced charges for those.
Sentenced to life with a minimum term of 40 years, Erskine was later diagnosed with a mental disorder under the Mental Health Act 1983, resulting in his transfer to Broadmoor. He is unlikely to be released before 2028, when he will be 66. Notably, his heavy sentence remains one of the most severe ever handed down in British legal history. In February 1996, Erskine made headlines again by thwarting a murder attempt on fellow inmate Peter Sutcliffe; he raised the alarm when Paul Wilson tried to strangle Sutcliffe with headphone flex.
7 David Copeland
David John Copeland, a former member of the British National Party and the National Socialist Movement, earned infamy as the “London Nail Bomber.” Between April 1999 and early May, he unleashed a 13‑day bombing campaign targeting London’s black, Bangladeshi, and gay communities. The explosions claimed three lives—including a pregnant woman—and injured 129 individuals, four of whom suffered limb loss. No warnings preceded his attacks.
During interrogation, Copeland revealed he’d harboured sadistic dreams since age 12, envisioning himself as an SS officer with enslaved women. He corresponded with BBC correspondent Graeme McLagan, denying any schizophrenia and accusing a “Zionist Occupation Government” of drug‑injecting him to silence his actions. He wrote, “I bomb the blacks, Pakis, degenerates. I would have bombed the Jews as well if I’d got a chance.” When police queried his motives, he bluntly replied, “Because I don’t like them, I want them out of this country, I believe in the master race.”
Despite five psychiatrists diagnosing him with paranoid schizophrenia and a consultant noting a personality disorder, the court rejected his plea of diminished responsibility. Copeland was convicted of murder on June 30, 2000, receiving six concurrent life sentences.
6 Peter Sutcliffe
Peter William Sutcliffe, forever remembered as the “Yorkshire Ripper,” was convicted in 1981 of murdering 13 women and assaulting several others. A loner from a young age, he quit school at 15 and held a series of menial jobs, including two stints as a gravedigger during the 1960s. His early interactions with prostitutes may have sown the seeds of his later violent hatred toward women.
In 1981, police stopped Sutcliffe with a 24‑year‑old prostitute; a routine check revealed false number plates, leading to his arrest. While at Dewsbury Police Station, investigators recognised his physical resemblance to the Yorkshire Ripper. The following day, officers discovered a discarded knife, hammer, and rope after Sutcliffe briefly escaped during questioning. On January 4, 1981, after two days of intense interrogation, he abruptly confessed, stating, “I am the Ripper.” He calmly recounted his attacks, later claiming divine instruction from God, even attributing the voices to a Polish headstone bearing the name Bronislaw Zapolski.
At trial, Sutcliffe pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, citing his belief that he was an instrument of God’s will. Over the years, he survived numerous inmate attacks: a broken coffee jar was thrust into his face at HMP Parkhurst, an attempted strangulation at Broadmoor was foiled by Kenneth Erskine, and a pen strike left him blind in his left eye. Sutcliffe died in November 2020 while incarcerated.
5 John Straffen
John Thomas Straffen holds the record as Britain’s longest‑serving prisoner. In the summer of 1951, he murdered two young girls, leading to his commitment to Broadmoor after being deemed unfit to plead. In 1952, he escaped the hospital’s perimeter, only to kill another girl within two hours—a tragedy that prompted the installation of an alarm system still tested every Monday at 10 am for two minutes, followed by a second tone signalling the “all‑clear.” Speakers positioned across Surrey and Berkshire broadcast the alarm up to 15 miles.
From an early age, Straffen exhibited disturbing behaviour. At eight, he was sent to a Child Guidance Clinic for theft and truancy. By 1939, a juvenile court placed him on two‑year probation for stealing a girl’s purse, yet his probation officer noted Straffen’s inability to discern right from wrong. Overcrowded living conditions and an absent mother led a psychiatrist to certify him under the Mental Deficiency Act 1927, assigning an IQ of 58 and a mental age of six. At 14, he was suspected of strangling two prize geese at school, though no evidence confirmed this. By 16, a review recorded an IQ of 64 and a mental age of 9 years 6 months, recommending discharge.
Following his 1951 murders, Straffen was confined to Broadmoor. His 1952 escape and subsequent killing of a third girl forced authorities to adopt the enduring alarm system. Straffen remained incarcerated for over five decades, dying in custody after a lifetime of institutionalisation.
4 Charles Bronson
Charles “Charlie” Bronson, born Michael Gordon Peterson, is arguably Britain’s most violent prisoner. Hailing from Luton, he first entered the criminal world through bare‑knuckle boxing in London’s East End. A promoter, unimpressed with his birth name, rechristened him Charles Bronson. In 1974, a robbery landed him a seven‑year sentence, but his reputation for violence grew rapidly.
While incarcerated, Bronson’s penchant for fighting both inmates and guards added years to his term. Regarded as a “problem prisoner,” he was shuffled 120 times across the prison system, spending all but four months of his adult life in solitary confinement. The original seven‑year term ballooned to fourteen years, prompting his first wife Irene to leave him. Released on October 30, 1988, his freedom lasted a fleeting 69 days before re‑arrest. In total, Bronson has spent just four months and nine days out of custody since 1974.
Bronson’s notoriety includes over a dozen hostage incidents, most famously a 47‑hour rooftop protest at Broadmoor in 1983 that caused roughly £750,000 (about $1.5 million) in damage. He has been housed at all three of England’s high‑security psychiatric hospitals, cementing his legacy as a relentless, almost mythic, figure in British criminal history.
3 Richard Dadd
Richard Dadd, a Victorian‑era English painter, is celebrated for his intricate depictions of fairies, Orientalist scenes, and enigmatic genre works—all rendered with obsessive detail. Ironically, many of his most renowned pieces were produced while he was confined at Broadmoor Hospital.
In 1842, Sir Thomas Phillips, former mayor of Newport, selected Dadd as his draftsman for an ambitious expedition across Europe, including Greece, Turkey, Palestine, and Egypt. During a grueling two‑week stint in Palestine, the journey culminated in a December voyage up the Nile. While traveling, Dadd experienced a dramatic personality shift, becoming delusional and convinced he was possessed by the Egyptian god Osiris. Initially dismissed as sunstroke, his condition quickly deteriorated.
Returning in spring 1843, Dadd was diagnosed with unsound mind and taken to Cobham, Kent, to recuperate. In August, convinced his father was the Devil in disguise, he murdered his father with a knife and fled toward France. En route, he attempted to kill another tourist with a razor but was subdued and arrested. He confessed to the patricide and was committed to Bethlem (Bedlam) before being transferred to the newly established Broadmoor, where he continued painting under care. Dadd likely suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, a condition that seemed to run in his family—two siblings were similarly afflicted, and a third required a private attendant.
2 Daniel M’Naghten
Daniel M’Naghten, a Scottish woodturner, is forever linked to the legal test for criminal insanity known as the M’Naghten Rules. In January 1843, after a period of wandering between London and Glasgow, he approached Edward Drummond, the Prime Minister’s private secretary, on Whitehall. Drawing a pistol, he fired at point‑blank range into Drummond’s back. A constable quickly overpowered him before a second shot could be fired.
The following morning, M’Naghten appeared before Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, delivering a brief yet fervent statement: “The Tories in my native city have compelled me to do this. They follow, persecute me wherever I go, and have entirely destroyed my peace of mind… It can be proved by evidence. That is all I have to say.” His delusions centred on a belief that Tory conspirators were persecuting him, a claim dismissed by authorities but later cemented in legal precedent.
His trial set a lasting precedent: the M’Naghten Rules, which assess whether a defendant understood the nature of their act or could distinguish right from wrong, remain a cornerstone of insanity defence in common‑law jurisdictions.
1 Ronald Kray
Ronald Kray, alongside his twin brother Reginald, commanded the East End’s underworld during the 1950s and 1960s. Ronald, often called Ron or Ronnie, suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, a condition that coloured his criminal career. The Kray twins orchestrated armed robberies, protection rackets, arson, and brutal assaults, including the infamous murders of Jack “The Hat” McVitie and George Cornell.
Despite their criminal empire, the twins cultivated a glamorous image, mingling with celebrities such as Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland, as well as politicians. Their high‑profile lifestyle made them media darlings, photographed by David Bailey and featured on television. Their notoriety peaked in the early 1960s, when they became cultural icons of the London underworld.
In May 1968, the twins were finally apprehended and, in 1969, convicted under the direction of Detective Superintendent Leonard “Nipper” Read. Ronald was later certified insane and spent his remaining years at Broadmoor, dying of a massive heart attack on March 17, 1995, at the age of 61. His funeral drew thousands of mourners, underscoring the complex legacy of a man who was both feared criminal and tragic figure.
These ten characters illustrate why Broadmoor Hospital remains a focal point for Britain’s most unsettling histories. From cannibals to chemists, artists to gangsters, each inmate left an indelible mark on the fabric of criminal psychology and legal precedent.