The title Baron Ashburnham (pronounced "Ash-burn-am"), of Ashburnham in the County of Sussex, was created in the Peerage of England in 1689 for John Ashburnham, grandson of the John Ashburnham who assisted King Charles I to escape from Oxford and Hampton Court Palace. The 3rd Baron was created Viscount St Asaph, in the Principality of Wales, and Earl of Ashburnham in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1730. The titles all became extinct in 1924, with the death of the 6th Earl.
The family's wealth was substantially drawn from the Welsh village of Pembrey; as late as 1873 the earls owned 7,568 acres in Wales.[1] They also owned extensive landholdings across Sussex and the iron industry there. The 4th Earl bought a famous collection of Illuminated manuscripts, which was sold by the 5th Earl, mostly to the British Library, although the Ashburnham Pentateuch is in Paris. The 5th Earl supported the Carlist claimant Juan, Count of Montizón.[2]
The seat of the Earls of Ashburnham was Ashburnham Place in Sussex. It was occupied by the 6th Earl's sister until her death in 1953, and subsequently the contents were sold in 1953 and the land in 1953-57.[3]
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Ashburnham County in New South Wales, Australia was named after the 4th Earl.