George Ashburnham, 3rd Earl of Ashburnham (25 December 1760 – 27 October 1830), was a British peer.

Early life

He was the son of the 2nd Earl of Ashburnham and the former Elizabeth Crowley, being styled Viscount St Asaph from birth, and was baptised on 29 January 1761 at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

, London, with

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

and the Dowager Princess of Wales as his godparents. In 1780, Lord St Asaph graduated from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree.

Career

Lord St Asaph was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his fathe ...

as 5th Baron Ashburnham in 1804. He held the office of Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

between 1810 and 1830. In 1812 he succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Ashburnham. His main family home was at

Ashburnham Place Ashburnham Place is an English country house, now used as a Christian conference and prayer centre, five miles west of Battle, East Sussex, Battle, East Sussex. It was one of the finest houses in the southeast of England in its heyday, but much o ...

in Sussex, which belonged to the family from the late 11th century until 1953. The Ashburnham archive is held by the East Sussex Record Office.

Personal life

He married, firstly, Sophia Thynne (19 December 1763 – 9 April 1791), daughter of the 3rd Viscount Weymouth (later the 1st Marquess of Bath), on 28 August 1784. They had four children: *

George Ashburnham, Viscount St Asaph George Ashburnham, Viscount St Asaph (9 October 1785 – 7 June 1813), styled The Honourable George Ashburnham until 1812, was a British politician. Background and education Ashburnham was the eldest son of George Ashburnham, 3rd Earl of Ashbur ...

(8 October 1785 – 7 June 1813) *Lady Elizabeth Sophia Ashburnham (16 September 1786 – 13 March 1879) *Sophia Ashburnham (29 January 1788 – 17 June 1807) *Ensign John Ashburnham (3 June 1789 – 1810) (served in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

; drowned whilst returning from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

) He married, secondly, Lady Charlotte Percy (3 June 1776 – 26 November 1862) on 25 July 1795. She was a daughter of the 1st Earl of Beverley, and a sister of

George Percy, 5th Duke of Northumberland George Percy, 5th Duke of Northumberland PC (22 June 1778 – 22 August 1867), styled Lord Lovaine between 1790 and 1830 and known as the Earl of Beverley between 1830 and 1865, was a British Tory politician. He served as Captain of the Yeome ...

. They had 13 children: *William Ashburnham (19 January 1797 – 1797) (died an infant) * Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham (23 November 1797 – 22 June 1878) *Percy Ashburnham (22 November 1799 – 25 January 1881) *Lady Charlotte Susan Ashburnham (23 February 1801 – 26 April 1865) *Lady Theodosia Julia Ashburnham (27 March 1802 – 22 August 1887) *Charles Ashburnham (23 March 1803 – 22 December 1848) *Lady Georgiana Jemima Ashburnham (11 May 1805 – May 1882) (mother of Lord Redesdale) *Lady Jane Henrietta Ashburnham (19 July 1809 – 26 November 1896) (mother of the poet

Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

) *Lady Katherine Frances Ashburnham (31 March 1812 – 6 April 1839) *Lady Eleanor Isabel Bridget Ashburnham (28 July 1814 – 6 March 1895) *General

Thomas Ashburnham Thomas Ashburnham may refer to: * Thomas Ashburnham (general) (1808–1872), commander of British troops in China and Hong Kong * Thomas Ashburnham, 6th Earl of Ashburnham (1855–1924), British Army officer and peer * Thomas Ashburnham (MP) ...

, CB (1816 – 2 March 1872) *Lady Mary Agnes Blanche Ashburnham (23 January 1816 – 22 April 1899) *Reginald Ashburnham (1819 – 5 March 1830) On his death he was succeeded by his fourth (but eldest surviving) son, Bertram, Viscount St. Asaph.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashburnham, George Ashburnham, 3rd Earl of 1760 births 1830 deaths Earls of Ashburnham Knights of the Garter Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London