[3][4][5] As a child he had been taught how to practice metal work on a lathe, but upon leaving Oxford, he was articled to the London architect Basil Champneys.

[5] By 1880 he had opened a small workshop in North End Road, Fulham making furniture for Morris & Co.[3][5] A year later the company employed John Lovegrove, a skilled brass and copper-worker, and Benson moved into the design of metal work including fire screens and fenders, tableware, kettles, urns and light fittings.

[5] During World War I the company switched production to shells for the Ministry of Munitions, and equipment for the launching of torpedoes for the Admiralty.

[3] In 1920, Benson sold the business and retired to Castle Corner, a house in Manorbier, Wales with his wife Venetia and died four years later on 5 July.

[3] Benson was also a supporting member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and assisted with the reorganisation of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

[12] In 1900, German critic, Hermann Muthesius in his publication Das Englische Haus, a study of avant garde lighting devoted pages to Benson's designs.

[1] Muthesius wrote Benson was the first to develop his designs directly out of the purpose and character of the metal as material... he was the leading spirit in electrical appliances in England.