William Edward Arthur Brown was born in Pimlico, London, England on 17 July 1877. He was articled to George Arthur Lansdown (1862-1946) in 1892 and remained as his assistant. He also attended the Regent Street Polytechnic and, from 1899 to 1904, at Royal Academy Schools in London. He qualified as an architect in 1904 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) later that year. He subsequently established a practice in London and by 1914 was in partnership with Lansdown as George Lansdown & Brown. They remained in practice until the mid-1930s.
Brown was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1922. His address was given as 98 Paulet Road, Camberwell, Surrey in 1904; 9, Regent Street, London in 1904 and 1930; 33 Caldecot Road, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, Surrey in 1911; and 27 Grove Road, Sutton, Surrey in 1937. He died on 10 July 1937.
Superintendent's residence and alterations to C.E.T.S. Home at Abbotswood, Glos; Nurses' Home, St. Mary's Hospital for Women and Children, Plaistow, 1922; garage and factory at Lambeth for British and Argentine Meat Co., Ltd., 1922; Churches at Peckham and Swindon; extension of C.S.S.A. Stores, Agar Street, Strand; private houses at Wimbledon, Mill Hill, Coulsdon, etc.
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