John Bennett was born on 15 March 1875. He was articled to Telfer Smith (c1852-?) in Builth, Breconshire, Wales from 1872 to 1875 and remained with him as his assistant until 1877. He then worked as an assistant to Thomas Bower in Nantwich, Cheshire in 1897, and to Marshall Robinson (c.1854-1923) in Bolton, Lancashire. He remained in Bolton until c.1914 when he he began working as an architect in the Municipal Offices in Exeter, Devon. By 1919 he had been appointed City Architect for Exeter, a post he ld until at least 1939.
Bennett was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1910 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1931. He was also a member of the Devon and Cornwall Architectural Society and its President and Chairman of the Exeter Branch in the early 1930s.
His address was given as 36 Old Tiverton Road, Exeter in 1939. He died in Exeter in 1969
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001