Sir John Bennett (15 October 1814 – 3 July 1897) FRAS was a clockmaker and watchmaker. He was described by one biographer as a "flamboyant personality who seems to have aroused in his contemporaries varying degrees of ridicule, hostility, and admiration".

Life

Sir John Bennett Vanity Fair 13 January 1883

The eldest son of John Bennett, watchmaker, of Greenwich, he was educated at Colfe's Grammar School, Lewisham. In 1846 he established his own business as a watchmaker at 65 Cheapside, in the City of London. His younger brother, the poet William Cox Bennett, was also a watchmaker in Cheapside. Although trained as a practical watchmaker, Bennett's business at Cheapside was a high street retailer of watches made by English and Swiss watch manufacturers. Bennett married Agnes Willson in 1843 and the couple had three children, Alice, John and Juliet. When Bennett retired, he was noted to be boarding with Aimee Guilbert, a widow. She was, in fact, his long term mistress and bore him seven children; Lillie, Lionel, Violet, Rose, Horace, Gerald Munro and Douglas Thurlow, all of whom took their mother's surname. He retired from business and from the Court of Common Council in 1889, first to

Rotherfield Rotherfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is one of the largest parishes in East Sussex. There are three villages in the parish: Rotherfield, Mark Cross and Eridge. The River Rother, which ...

, Sussex, and later to St. Leonards-on-Sea on the Sussex coast, where he died in 1897 at the age of 82. He was described in an obituary as "a man of strong character, very eccentric, and one of the most familiar figures in London". The fate of Bennett's estate is uncertain, with two

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

records issued. The first granted probate on 1 February 1898 to Henry Hewitt Bridgman with the estate valued at £463 19s. 6d. A second record of 1899 grants probate to Edward Jones Trustram, solicitor, the attorney of Aimée Guilbert, ''spinster''. By this second probate, the estate had dwindled to just £88 9s. 6d.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1898 and 1899 A notice in the London Gazette of 29 September 1899 asking all creditors of the estate to contact Trustram states that Aimée Guilbert was named executrix in the will. Bennett was a flamboyant man including in his dress and public appearances. He was reporting as appearing in the Lord Mayor's Show mounted on a white horse whilst dressed in a black velvet jacket and a broad-brimmed hat. The family of his daughter, Alice, described him as "abominable" and "something of a monster".

Civic career

Bennett was a Liveryman of the Spectaclemakers', Clockmakers' and Loriners' companies, and served as Master of the Loriners in 1877–78. Bennett was a Common Councilman on the City of London Corporation for the ward of

Cheap Cheap may refer to: *Cheapness * ''Cheap'' (album), debut album from Seasick Steve *Cheap (ward), London, UK *Flatwoods, Kentucky, previously known as Cheap See also *Cheapskate A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to th ...

from 1862 to 1889. In October 1872 he was elected to the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for ...

to fill a casual vacancy in the representation of the City of London. Although he stood down from the school board at the election in 1873, he returned to serve a three-year term from 1876 to 1879 and he served a further term 1885–1889. He was a Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1871 and following the death of Richard Young (MP) again in 1872 and a Lord Lieutenant of the City of London, and was knighted as part of the celebrations for the recovery of the Prince of Wales from typhoid in the same year. In 1877 he was elected the alderman for Cheap ward, winning by a single vote. It was alleged that eight men who had voted for him had rented property solely to be able to vote and one of those eight admitted as much; the Recorder ruled that this did not invalidate the vote. His opponent then withdrew and Bennett was declared elected. The Court of Aldermen though, declaring him to be "not of fit character" to hold the office, refused to ratify his appointment. Notwithstanding, the Wardmote returned him twice more. On his third return, the Court of Aldermen declared his opponent duly elected, despite his having fewer votes cast in his favour than Bennett. After this third rejection, Bennett withdrew from the election. He unsuccessfully stood for parliament on three occasions; Greenwich (1873), Maldon (1874) and Wiltshire (1886).

Honours

* Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society * Knight Bachelor * Légion d'honneur

References

External links

Retrieved 29 September 2016
Portraits of Bennett,

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Sir John (Watchmaker) 1814 births 1897 deaths Councilmen and Aldermen of the City of London English watchmakers (people) Recipients of the Legion of Honour Lord-lieutenants of the City of London Sheriffs of the City of London People from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Members of the London School Board People educated at Colfe's School People from Rotherfield People from Eastbourne