Born in Hoxton, he was the proprietor of St Andrews Distillery, Clerkenwell Road. A member of the Holborn District Board of Works, he held the office of chairman for twenty years. He was Holborn's representative on the Metropolitan Board of Works from 1880 until its abolition in 1889. When the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was formed in 1900, Phillips was chosen as one of the first aldermen. In 1901 he became the second Mayor of Holborn. He died at his home "Earlsmead", Beckenham, in 1910, aged 76, and was buried in Shirley.