Ashburnham family, Earls of Ashburnham

The Ashburnham family was settled in Sussex from the 12th century. John Ashburnham, Groom of the Chamber to King Charles I, was granted Ampthill Park in Bedfordshire (sold in 1720) and property in Pembrokeshire (Angle, sold 1661). John Ashburnham (1656-1710) married Bridget Vaughan, heiress of estates in Breconshire (Porthamel etc), Carmarthenshire (Pembrey etc.) and Glamorganshire, and was created Baron Ashburnham in 1689. The 2nd Baron married Katherine, daughter and eventual heiress of Thomas Taylor of Clapham (Bedfordshire). The 3rd Baron (1687-1737) was created Earl of Ashburnham in 1730. The 2nd Earl married in 1756 Elizabeth Crowley, heiress of estates in Suffolk (Barking etc.) and Kent (Blackheath) and ironworks in County Durham. The non-Sussex estates were alienated or reduced in size in the 19th and early 20th centuries. On the death of the 6th Earl in 1924 the remaining estates passed to Lady Mary Ashburnham, his sister, and on her death in 1953 to the Rev. J.D. Bickersteth, a descendant of the 4th Earl, who demolished most of Ashburnham House in 1959 and gave the remaining portion, with 220 acres, to the Ashburnham Christian Trust in 1960.

In 1883 the estates comprised 14,051 acres in Sussex, 3,372 acres in Suffolk, 5,685 acres in Carmarthenshire and 1,381 acres in Breconshire, together worth £24,136 a year.