John Louis Petit was the son of John Hayes Petit and Harriet Astley, He was born on May 31 1801 in Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge obtaining a B A in 1823 and a M A in 1826.

He took Holy Orders in 1824, although he became the Reverend John Louis Petit he did not do any parochial work. He was a keen artist with an interest in Church Architecture which can seen in the many water colours that he painted in and around Staffordshire and Shropshire. The Staffordshire Museums and Art Gallery have many of his works.

He died in Lichfield on December 2 1868 from a chill he caught whilst out sketching.