Horatio Kelson Bromhead was born in Bristol, England on 1 March 1834 and was articled to William Bruce Gingell (1819-1899) in Bristol from c.1853 to c.1857. He then worked as an assistant to Thomas Royse Lysaght and J. H. Hirst in Bristol for about a year, and to George Fowler Jones (1818-1905) in York until 1859 when he moved to Glasgow.
Broomhead remained in Glasgow throughout his career as an architect and most of his architectural projects were in the city. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1872 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1902. He was also a member of the Glasgow Institute of Architects and its President in 1904-05. He died in Glasgow on 24 January 1934
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 146, 23 February 1934 p. 324
‘Obituary’. Royal Institute of British Architects Journal vol. 41, 10 May 1934 p. 475