Thomas Bromley secured the freedom of Shrewsbury in 1528 and in 1529 admission to the Drapers' Company of Shrewsbury. Chartered by Edward IV in 1461, it was one of the two guilds that dominated this cloth town (the other being the Mercers). Around 1532 he became Warden of the Company, and at about the same time he was made an alderman – one of the council of 12 that assisted the two bailiffs in running the town. – a post he was to hold until his death. In 1536 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace in Shropshire. By 1537 he had been appointed Recorder of Shrewsbury: its senior legal and judicial officer. As this carried a heavy responsibility for representing the interests of the town in London, it fitted well with his activities at the Inner Temple, requiring him to spend only a little time in Shrewsbury itself.