[1] Burrows educated himself using Cassell's shilling handbooks, becoming a pupil teacher at the age of thirteen; he initially pursued a career in teaching before becoming an excise officer.

[1][2] He worked as a civil servant for the Inland Revenue,[2] including in Norwich, Barnet, Blackburn, and Chatham,[1] a career that lasted until his retirement in 1907.

[2] Burrows moved to London in 1877, where he joined radical clubs including the National Secular Society.

[1] Burrows actively promoted unionisation among workers, and the success of the matchgirls' strike helped to galvanise the trade union movement.

[1] Afflicted by paralysis from 1917, Burrows died at his home in Highbury Park, London on 14 December 1922.