The last of the OLD WORLD GIANTS. 3 Frederick Kempster

Frederick Kempster

Jane Kempster: Frederick's mother is pictured beside him, highlighting the extreme contrast in their heights.

Date: This photograph was taken around 1908, shortly after Frederick returned to England from a period spent in Canada.

Where
The photo was likely taken in England, following Frederick's return in 1904. He spent much of his later life performing with various traveling troupes and circuses throughout Europe, including a period in Germany where he was briefly held under house arrest during the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Frederick Kempster, pictured here with his mother Jane around 1908, is widely cited as the last person in the UK to reach a height in the 7'9" to 8'4" range.

While his height was subject to much "showman" exaggeration, modern experts and the Guinness World Records have documented the following for the UK's tallest individuals:

• Frederick Kempster (1889–1918): His "stage height" was often billed at 8' 4.5", but photographic evidence and medical experts typically place his actual standing height at approximately 7' 9.3" (237 cm).
• William Bradley (1787–1820): Known as the "Yorkshire Giant," he is one of the tallest British men ever verified, measuring exactly 7' 9" (236 cm).
• Jane Bunford (1895–1922): She remains the tallest woman in UK history and the tallest English person ever verified, reaching 7' 11" (241 cm). 

Tallest in the UK Today (2026)
No one in the UK has reached Kempster’s or Bradley's extreme height in over a century. The tallest living British men in recent years have been significantly shorter than the giants of the early 1900s:
• Paul Sturgess: Currently recognized as Britain's tallest living man, he stands at 7' 7.26" (232 cm).
• Neil Fingleton (1980–2017): Before his passing, he was the UK's tallest man at 7' 7.56" (232.6 cm).
• Hussain Bisad: A Somali-born British resident who reached 7' 7.5" (232 cm).

The primary reason for the "drop" in height is medical. In the era of the "English Giant," conditions like pituitary gigantism often went untreated, allowing individuals to grow indefinitely. Today, these conditions are typically identified and treated with surgery or medication to stop growth before it reaches such extreme, life-threatening levels