Bennet, John (c. 1715–1759)

Bennet, of Chinley, Derbyshire, was a legal clerk and then a pack-man. Following a dramatic conversion in 1742 he became associated with David Taylor and Benjamin Ingham. Lady Huntingdon introduced him to JW in 1743 and he quickly became a lay preacher, creating his own 'round' of Methodist societies in Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire. His relationship with JW was strained in Oct. 1749 when, through the instigation of CW, Bennet married Grace Murray, a widow whom JW believed was betrothed to himself. Bennet went on to adopt more Calvinist views and left JW's connexion in 1752. He received congregational ordination in 1754 and took charge of an Independent chapel at Warburton, Cheshire, where he served until his death. See Atmore, Memorial, 49–51; DEB, 83–84; ODNB; Pawson, Letters, 3:143; and Vickers, Dictionary, 27.