Thomas Brown was born on 31 January 1871. He was articled to John Eltringham (1853-1934) in Sunderland, England from 1886 to 1889 and remained with him as his assistant for a further year. He then worked as an assistant to a builder from 1890 to 1894. He also studied design at Liverpool School of Architecture. He was employed as an assistant to Joseph Cawley in Northwich in 1894-95, and to James E. Knight in Rotherham from 1896 to 1901.
In 1901 Brown was appointed Assistant Architect and Surveyor to Croydon School Board. The following year he moved to Liverpool where he was Assistant Surveyor to the city's Education Committee. He was later appointed Principal Assistant Surveyor at New Scotland Yard in London, a position he held for a number of years. He was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1912. He was active as an architect until at least the late 1920s.
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