Charles Thorold Wood


Charles Thorold Wood, snr was an English ornithologist.
He was born the eldest of the 9 children of Willoughby Wood, of Alford, Lincolnshire, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and his wife, Elizabeth Thorold. Charles matriculated at Merton College, Oxford on 26 October 1795.
He was a captain in the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards. He was a keen ornithologist and the author of The Ornithological Guide.
He married Jane, daughter of Sir John Thorold, 9th Baronet, in 1812 and lived in Thoresby, Lincolnshire. They had five sons, Willoughby, William, Charles jnr, Neville and Arthur, four of whom were painted as children by Sir Henry Raeburn, and three daughters. In 1836 the family made a dramatic escape from a serious fire when they were living at Foston Hall in Derbyshire. Neville was also an amateur ornithologist.