The street was named after a Bishop of London, Robert Braybrooke. Other Bishops of London who gave their names to nearby streets were Mellitus, Earconwald, Osmund, Wulfstan, Gilbert Foliot, Richard FitzNeal, John Stokesley and Humphrey Henchman.

The street is known as the location of the Massacre of Braybrook Street where three police officers were murdered by Harry Roberts and John Duddy in August 1966.

The officers had stopped to question the three occupants of a car. Roberts shot dead Temporary Detective Constable David Wombwell and Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, whilst John Duddy, another occupant in the vehicle, shot dead Police Constable Geoffrey Fox.

The three suspects went on the run, initiating a large manhunt. All three were eventually arrested and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. Duddy died in prison in 1981. John Witney, the driver of the suspects’ vehicle, was also convicted of the murders; he was released from jail in 1991 but was killed in 1999 in an unconnected incident. Roberts became one of the longest-serving prisoners in the country, serving 48 years before his controversial release in 2014.

Public sympathy for the families of the victims resulted in the establishment of the Police Dependants’ Trust to assist the welfare of families of British police officers who have died in the line of duty.