Biography of Bertram Ashburnham 5th Earl Ashburnham 1840-1913

The Times 16 Jan 1913. 16 Jan 1913. Obituary. Lord Ashburnham (deceased).

Tbe Earl of Asburnhan died yesterday atternoon at a hotel in Paris where he was staying. He had been ill for some time.

Bertram, Earl Ashburnham and Viscount St. Asaph in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Baron Ashburnham in that of England, was born on October 28, 1840. He the eldest son or the fourth earl, his mother having been an aunt of the present Earl of Haddington (age 85). He was educated at Westminster School and on the Continent, and was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1872. Six years later he succeeded his father in the title and estates, which consist of about 24,000 acres. Tbe family seats are Ashburnham Place, Battle; Barking Hall, Needham Market, Suffolk ; and Pembrey, Camarthenshire. The barony was created by William III. The first baron's grandfather had been committed to the Tower by Cromwell for aiding King Charle's escape from Hampton Court. The third baron, who had been Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Frederick Prince of Wales, obtained the higher titles.

Lord Ashburnham, who was Chairman of the British Home Rule Association, presided over one the easliest public meetings ever held in Great Britain to advocate that policy. For many years be acted as the represetative of Don Carlos and the Legitimist Party of Spain in this country. Lord Ashburnham was a magistrate for Sussex, Breconshire. and Carmarthenshire. He was senior knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Great Britain and representative of the Order, and he the received also the Grand Cross of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem and the Pontitical Order of Pius.

The late peer married in 1888 Emily, daughter of the late Mr. R. Chaplin. Lady Ashburnham died in 1900, leaving one daughter, Lady Mary Catherine Ashburnham (age 23), born in 1890 and is now a nun. Lord Ashburnham's brother John, who had been in the Diplomatic Service, died last April. His next two brothers are also dead, and the title passes to Captain the Hon. Thomas Ashburnham (age 57), late 7th Hussars, who is not Roman Catholic. The new peer was born in 1855, and served in Egypt, obtaining the order of the Medjidieh. He was formerly extra aide-de-camp to two Lords-Lieutenent of Ireland. In 1903 be married Maria Elizabeth, second daughter of Mr. W. H. Anderson, of Fredericton, New Brunswick, where he now lives. There is no heir. His sisters are Lady Margaret Bickersteth and Lady Mary Holland, wife of the Hon. Sydney Holland.