Background
Brotherton was born in 1829, a son of Richard Brotherton and Mary.
Brotherton was born in 1829, a son of Richard Brotherton and Mary.
He was raised in a large family by his widowed mother and was apprenticed to his uncle, Cornelius Whitehouse, an innovator in new ways of tube manufacture.
He worked in Wednesbury and Monmore Green and acquired the knowledge to leave and set up his own business aged 32. Brotherton was elected to Wolverhampton Borough Council in 1873. He served as Mayor of Wolverhampton from 1883/84.
He represented Street George"s Ward and was a member of the Waterworks Committee, promoting improvements to the town supply.