Craven Ord, FRS, FSA, of Greenstead Hall, Antiquary and Brass Rubber

Craven Ord was born in London in 1756, the younger son of Harry Ord, of the King's Remembrancer's office, and Anne, daughter of Francis Hutchinson of Barnard Castle, Durham. His uncle, Robert Ord was chief baron of the Scottish Exchequer. Ord's schooling seems to be undocumented and he did not matriculate from either of the English universities. Ord’s life was mainly devoted to antiquarian researches and he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on the 26 January 1775 and of the Royal Society on the 3 May 1787. He was for several years vice-president of the former society.

He collected manuscripts, printed books, drawings, and engravings, and assembled and indexed some twenty volumes of material relating to Suffolk; but he also acquired fine manuscripts for their own sake, and large numbers of medieval deeds. His Suffolk collection is now in the British Museum.

He assisted with others on the ‘Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain,’ and in September 1780 he undertook a tour in search of brasses in East-Anglia. He left few churches in southern England unexplored, and formed a unique collection of impressions of brasses. His method of obtaining the impressions was as follows:
French paper kept damp in a specially prepared case; printer's ink; and rags. He inked the brass, wiped it clean, laid on the paper, covered it with some thicknesses of cloth, and then trod on it. He finished the outlines at home, cut out the figures, and pasted them in a large portfolio.

His collection of impressions of sepulchral brasses, were bound in two volumes, with deal boards over six feet in height, was purchased by Thorpe the bookseller in 1830.
Ord married in June 1784, Mary Smith daughter of John Redman of Greenstead Hall. They had five sons, and one daughter. When Redman died in 1798, he left Greenstead Hall to Craven Ord, and it was to remain his seat until 1828. It was provided in Redman’s will that Greenstead should be held in trust for the younger children of Ord and Mary. However Craven made sufficient profits from the sale of timber from the estate during the Napoleonic Wars, that he was able to satisfy the portions of his younger children.
Ord's library was mostly dispersed of in June 1829, on the occasion of his leaving England for the sake of his health. He died at Woolwich Common on the 29 January 1832, aged 76 years, and the manor passed to his eldest son, the Revd. Craven Ord (d. 1836).

Upon the death of his son the Revd. Craven Ord, the Greenstead Hall estate was put up for auction on the 23 June 1837, and was eventually purchased in the September by the Reverend Philip Budworth, and in 1854 Captain Philip Budworth took up residence, living there until his death in 1885.
Children of Craven Ord:
The Rev. Craven Ord (1786 – 14 Dec. 1836);
Major Robert Hutchinson Ord, K.H., of the Royal Artillery. (died 1828). Later Sir Robert H. Ord.
Captain William Redman Ord of the Royal Engineers;
John Ord, M.D., of Hertford;
Captain Harry Gough Ord,
Harriot Mary, married in 1815 the Rev. George Hughes, of Stanford Rivers.

Craven Ord is buried in Greensted churchyard.