United Kingdom · North East England · Durham
HMP Frankland
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit HMP Frankland
Step-by-step guidance using the United Kingdom system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Background
HM Prison Frankland is a Category A men's prison located in the village of Brasside in County Durham, England. Frankland is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is located next to HM Prison Low Newton, a closed women's prison. The prison has been nicknamed "Monster Mansion" along with HM Prison Wakefield due to the high number of murderers, rapists and terrorists imprisoned there.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
850
Current population
850
Occupancy
100%
Year opened
1980
Operational
Facility profile
Operator
HM Prison & Probation Service
Population held
male
Opened
1980
Region
North East England
Security level
Maximum
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
HMI Prisons 2023 inspection found significant violence against staff, including the high-profile assault on a prison officer by Hashem Abedi.
Visiting
Visits booked online via the GOV.UK Prison Visits Booking service. Photo ID required. Visit frequency varies by the inmate's IEP level.
Mailing
Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Frankland, Business Hub HMP Frankland Brasside Durham DH1 5YD See map Help us to improve this page. Give us your feedback in this 2-minutes survey .. Use Send Money to a Prisoner (GOV.UK) for funds — cash not accepted.
Practical info
Assisted Prison Visits Unit can help with travel costs for eligible families. Email a Prisoner service is available via the official website.
Known issues
April 2025: prisoner Hashem Abedi (Manchester Arena bombing conspirator) attacked staff with boiling water and weapons. Multiple operational reviews triggered.
Notable inmates
Charles Bronson, Levi Bellfield, Robert Maudsley, Hashem Abedi.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 5/30
- Oversight reports
- 12/30
- Structural flags
- 5/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Operating at 100% of design capacity
- · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
- · Substantial documented known-issues record
Compared to other facilities in United Kingdom
583 peersHigher risk than 98% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Reports
- Independent Monitoring Board12 Apr 2025
Hashem Abedi (Manchester Arena bombing conspirator) attacked staff with boiling water and home-made weapons; three officers injured.
Data completeness
100%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- GOV.UK — HMP Frankland
- GOV.UK Find a prison index
- Find a prison — GOV.UK — UK Ministry of Justice / HMPPS
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons — reports — HMI Prisons (UK)
- GOV.UK Find a prison — collection — UK Ministry of Justice / HMPPS
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.