The son of John Benson and Isabella Robinson, his wife, he was born on 26 January 1749, in the parish of
Kirkoswald, Cumberland. His father wished him to become a clergyman, sent him to the village school, and then was under a Mr. Dean, a
Presbyterian minister living in the parish. Aged 15, Benson opened a small school in
Gamblesby. A cousin took him to a Methodist conventicle, and they read Wesley's sermons. In December 1765 he set off on foot to hear Wesley preach in
Newcastle-on-Tyne, arrived too late, but followed him to London. With an introduction to Wesley, he was taken on
Bristol in March 1766, and appointed classical master at
Kingswood School. There he preached and held cottage and prayer meetings, but remained an Anglican. In a clash with
Thomas Coke of 1780, Benson found he had been called a heretic. Wesley managed to smooth over the affair. The contentious matter of the mid-1790s, of Methodist ministers and the
sacrament, saw Benson opposed by others such as John Murlin, who disagreed with his view that Methodists should take it in Anglican churches. In 1803, Benson became editor of the
Methodist Magazine, and held the post for the rest of his life. Benson was
president of the Methodist conference in 1798 and 1810. He died on 16 February 1821, aged 72. ==Works==