Brandon became a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, one of the Livery Companies or craft guilds of the City of London, by redemption on 3 February 1548. He advanced to liveryman of the Goldsmiths' Company on 5 May 1561 and served as its Prime Warden 1582–83, chairing the Court of Wardens or governing body of the company. Brandon was one of the queen's two royal goldsmiths from c. 1558 to 1580. Royal goldsmiths of this era "were often selected more for their financial skills than their craftsmanship", often acting as agents for other members of the company. As royal goldsmith, Brandon made or supplied gold chains and the gold and silver-gilt cups, bowls, and other forms of plate that were given as New Year's gifts by the queen to members of her court and as gifts to foreign princes and their servants.
Chamberlain
On 8 January 1583, Brandon was elected chamberlain or treasurer of the City of London and served in that capacity until his death in 1591. In the hierarchy of City government, the chamberlain ranked second to the recorder. The chamberlain was responsible for enrolment of apprentices and admission of freemen; for the safekeeping and return of the goods and monies of orphans; and for the management and maintenance of City properties. The chamberlain reported fees, rents, and lease payments collected for tenements and lands, as well as monies paid out for their repair. "In the sixteenth century the chamberlain was held personally responsible for the Chamber's solvency; indeed the Chamber Accounts were designed to show whether the chamberlain owed the City money, rather than reveal the true financial state of the corporate body." There were many worries about the finances of the chamberlain's office during the later years of Brandon's tenure, especially concerning the management of City lands. Although he was never formally charged or censured, in his will, drawn up three weeks before his death in 1591, Brandon was moved to defend himself:
Secondly to Elizabeth Osborne, widow of a certain Chapman, by whom he had issue including:
*Lucy Brandon, who married Sir Richard Reynell who built Forde House, Wolborough, Devon. Her recumbent effigy, next to that of her husband, exists in Wolborough parish church. Lucy was the subject of a book published in 1654, The Life and Death of the Religious and Virtuous Lady, the Lady Lucie Reynell of Ford by her nephew Edward Reynell, which recorded Lucy's strict manners, and her charitable works, including her almshouses of 1640, the successors to which still exist in Newton Abbot.
Death
Robert Brandon died in London on 30 May 1591. He was survived by a son, Edward, five daughters of his first marriage, and Lucy, his daughter by his second wife.
