He was born at Douglas, Isle of Man, on 10 August 1823, was second son of Robert Brown, and his wife Dorothy (Thomson).

The father, Robert Brown (died 1846), was at one time master of the grammar school in Douglas, and in 1817 became chaplain of St. Matthew's chapel in that town.

His boys spent the summers in collecting his tithes of hay and corn, intermittently walking five miles to Douglas Grammar School, but Hugh's early education consisted chiefly in reading four or five hours daily to his father, who became almost blind.

[1] Hugh was apprenticed when fifteen to a land surveyor, and employed in tithe commutation and ordnance surveys in Cheshire, Shrewsbury, and York.

After three years at Wolverton he returned home and entered King William's College at Castletown to study for the church.

When his training was almost complete he felt unable to subscribe to the ordination service, and resolved to return to his trade; but in the meantime was baptised at Stony Stratford, lost his father, and received unexpectedly an invitation to preach at Myrtle Street Baptist Chapel, Liverpool in March 1847.

The Statue was unveiled on Tuesday 15 October 1889 in the churchyard at the front of Myrtle Street Baptist Church opposite the Philharmonic Hall.

It had suffered extensive damage and lay forlornly in the stable yard at Croxteth Hall in Liverpool until in early 2014.

Then as part of the planning stipulations for the development of student apartments on Hope Street an agreement between the Nordic Construction (the developers) and Liverpool City Council was made to restore the statue and erect it on Hope street at the entrance to the apartments and opposite the Philharmonic pub.

The hands, foot and sack coat damage were replaced using matching Italian marble and original photographic reference to replicate the lost detail.