The Ashburnham family are first noted as Sussex landowners in the twelfth century with one Reginald de Esburneham recorded as giving a portion of his land to the monks at Battle Abbey. In the seventeenth century the Ashburnham family rose to prominence under the reign of Charles I. As ardent royalists the Civil War ultimately cost them their Sussex estate, Ashburnham Place, which they subsequently regained following the Restoration. John Ashburnham was created first Baron in 1689, with the Earldom subsequentally created in May 1730. The family held multiple estates alongside their principal seat, Ashburnham Place in Sussex. This included a house in Dean’s Yard, Westminster and a property in Dover Street, Piccadilly. Confusingly both houses were consecutively known as Ashburnham House. The Dean’s Yard property now forms part of Westminster School.

John, 4th Bt. and 2nd Earl Ashburnham was born on 30 October 1724, the eldest son of John, 1st Earl of Ashburnham by his third wife Lady Jemima Grey. He succeeded to the title upon his father’s death in March 1736. In June 1756 at St George’s Church, Hanover Square John married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John Crowley, Alderman of London and Theodosia Gascoyne. John and Elizabeth would go on to have one son and four daughters.

The 2nd Earl had a successful career at court, holding a number of significant positions including Lord of the Bedchamber (1748-62), Lord Lieutenant of Sussex (1754-62) and Keeper of Hyde Park and St. James’s Park (1753-62). In 1765 he was appointed Privy Councillor and in 1775 was made First Lord of the Bedchamber and Groom of the Stole. In 1782 John resigned from his roles at court when he found himself overlooked for the Order of the Garter. The King sent sincere letters of apology regarding the oversight, but the Earl would not forgive the perceived slight and did not return.

In his youth Ashburnham was a keen supporter of the Whig party and was openly critical of Wilkes’s disqualification. Later, however, he aligned himself with the Tory party. Horace Walpole thought him to be ‘decent, reserved and servile’, but found him ‘centred in self-interest’.

He died on 8 April 1812, aged 87 and was buried at St Peter’s Church, Ashburnham, Sussex.

Lord Ashburnham constructed a new house in Dover Street, possibly as a replacement for the earlier Ashburnham House (the Dean’s Yard property in Westminster). The development of Dover Street had begun in the mid-seventeenth century and it was subsequently named after Henry Jermyn, Lord Dover who lived on the east side of the street until 1782. There is some confusion as to the original numbering of Ashburnham House, with Bolton referring to it as both no. 19 and no. 98 Dover Street. King notes that in the 1813 edition of Horwood’s map of London the property is not numbered. In the late nineteenth century it was referred to as no. 30 Dover Street and the current property on the site is no. 29a.

In 1773 Ashburnham commissioned from Adam a number of interior designs alongside additions for the exterior of the house. It is possible that Lord Ashburnham became acquainted with Adam’s work following his 1768 design for the new Deputy Ranger’s Lodge in Hyde Park, as Ashburnham had held the post of Keeper of Hyde Park and St. James’s Park just six years previously.

The exterior scheme for Ashburnham House was relatively modest and consisted of a new entrance screen for the forecourt of the building. The screen included a central porter’s lodge flanked by carriage gates and piers supporting lamps. The screen does not survive, but it is apparent from a number of sources that it was executed to Adam’s designs. King notes that the porter’s lodge is recorded on Horwood’s map of 1813, in accordance with the scheme. Significantly King also highlights that two greyhounds were supplied by the sculptor George Eckstein to surmount the screen, flanking the urn-shaped chimney of the porter’s lodge. This follows the ornamental detailing included in Adam’s design (SM Adam volume 51/45). The gateway and lodge were still in situ c1891 when Wheatley recorded the exterior of the house and noted the entrance screen to be of Robert Adam’s 1773 design.

For the interiors of the house Adam produced a number of exquisite ceiling designs alongside a scheme for the library. As Ashburnham house was demolished in the twentieth century it is difficult to ascertain which of the interior designs were carried out. The execution of at least a portion of the interiors is very likely given the extent of the work carried out for the exterior. As King notes, the survival of designs for mirrors and locks also indicate the execution of Adam’s designs, alongside variant ceiling designs inscribed as ‘not executed’ suggesting the remaining designs were carried out.

In 1891 Wheatley recorded the previous use of the house by the Russian Ambassador to whom the property was leased. By the end of the nineteenth century the house was once again the London residence of the Earl of Ashburnham. Upon the death of Thomas, 6th Earl of Ashburnham in 1924 the estate passed to his niece Lady Catherine Ashburnham. When Lady Catherine died in January 1953 the estates were broken up and sold to pay taxes. In June 1953 there were several auctions at Sotheby’s which included the sale of most of the family’s portraits, carpets and furniture.

Literature:
E. Walford, ‘Piccadilly: Northern tributaries’, Old and New London: Volume 4, 1878, pp. 291-314; H.B. Wheatley, London Past and Present, 1891, Volume I, p. 517; A.T. Bolton, The architecture of Robert and James Adam, 1922, Volume II, Index pp. 36-37, 61; D. King, The complete works of Robert and James Adam & unbuilt Adam, 2001, Volume I, pp. 12, 296-298, F. Sands, Robert Adam's London, 2016, pp. 118-120; n.6-7, pls. 417-19, Volume II, pp. 18-19; ‘Ashburnham family estate: ACC/0524’, www.lma.gov.uk; ‘179. East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Record Office- Ashburnham family archive’, www.discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk; ‘Ashburnham, John (1724-1812)’, www.discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk; ‘Portrait of John Ashburnham (2nd Earl of Ashburnham)’, www.mutualart.com; ‘The Ashburnham Place Lacquer Commodes’, www.ronaldphillpsantiques.co.uk (accessed January 2021)

Anna McAlaney, 2021