Bertram Ashburnham, 5th Earl of Ashburnham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bertram Ashburnham, 5th Earl of Ashburnham
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| Born | 28 October 1840 |
| Died | 15 January 1913 (aged 72) Paris |
| Title | Earl of Ashburnham |
| Tenure | 1878–1913 |
| Other titles | Viscount St. Asaph Baron Ashburnham |
| Residence | Ashburnham Place |
| Spouse(s) | Emily Chaplin (1888–1900) |
| Issue | Lady Mary Catherine Charlotte Ashburnham |
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Bertram Ashburnham, 5th Earl of Ashburnham (born October 28, 1840 – died January 15, 1913) was an important British nobleman. He was known for being a supporter of the Carlist cause in Spain. This group wanted to put a different royal family member on the Spanish throne. He also supported the Irish Home Rule movement, which aimed for Ireland to govern itself.
Bertram Ashburnham also sold a very large and valuable collection of old books and handwritten documents. His father, the 4th Earl, had spent many years collecting these items.
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Who Was Bertram Ashburnham?
Bertram Ashburnham was born on October 26, 1840. He was the oldest son of the 4th Earl of Ashburnham. He went to school at Westminster School in England and also studied in France.
In 1878, when his father passed away, Bertram became the 5th Earl of Ashburnham. He also inherited other titles, like Viscount St. Asaph. With these titles, he gained control of about 24,000 acres of family land in England and Wales. This included the main family home, Ashburnham Place in Sussex.
In 1888, he married Emily Chapman. They had one child, a daughter named Lady Mary Catherine Charlotte Ashburnham, who was born in 1890. Sadly, his wife Emily died in 1900. Their daughter, Lady Mary, later decided to become a nun in 1912.
Selling the Ashburnham Manuscripts
Soon after becoming the Earl in 1878, Bertram Ashburnham started to sell his father's huge collection of manuscripts. His father, the 4th Earl, loved books and had gathered an amazing collection of old books and handwritten documents. Most of these were bought in the 1840s.
The collection included nearly 1,000 items from the Stowe collection. There were also the Libri and Barrois collections, which had a total of 2,625 manuscripts. Another group of 250 manuscripts was added over time.
Selling these items was tricky. Many documents in the Libri and Barrois collections had been stolen from French libraries. A man named Count Libri had stolen them and then sold them to the 4th Earl.
Lord Ashburnham first offered to sell the entire collection to the British Museum for £160,000 in 1879. He didn't want to lower the price or sell only parts of it. The British Museum decided not to buy them.
When he offered them again in 1883, the French government stepped in. They said that 160 to 170 of the manuscripts, worth about £24,000, had been stolen from French public libraries. They believed these documents belonged to France.
Ashburnham said none of the manuscripts were stolen. However, he had to sell the collections separately. The British government bought the Stowe collection for £45,000 in 1883. Over the next few years, other manuscripts were sold. Many went to the French and Italian governments. The last part of the Barrois collection was finally sold in 1901.
Political Interests
The 5th Earl of Ashburnham was a strong supporter of the Carlist cause in Spain. This group wanted to put a different royal family member, Don Carlos, on the Spanish throne. Bertram acted as the main British contact and spokesperson for Don Carlos and later his son.
He generally believed in Legitimist ideas, which support the rights of traditional royal families. In 1886, he even started a group called the Order of the White Rose. This group became the main public face for these royalist ideas in Britain.
Carlist activities grew during and after the Spanish–American War in 1898. Spain's government was weak after losing the war. The Carlists hoped to remove the king, even by force, and replace him with Don Carlos. Ashburnham thought the Spanish army would not defend the king against the Carlist forces. He believed there would be "perhaps a little fighting here and there" but not a full war.
To get ready for possible fighting, Ashburnham allowed part of his land in Wales to be used for military training. A famous person named Aleister Crowley was one of the recruits who learned to use machine guns and rifles there.
Ashburnham also bought a yacht called the Firefly. He planned to use it to carry weapons and ammunition to the Carlist supporters in Spain in the summer of 1899. However, on June 17, the yacht was stopped at a French port called Arcachon. It had a crew of 15 and a cargo of rifles.
In early August, a newspaper reported that the yacht was allowed to leave after paying a small fee. But the 3,664 rifles it was carrying were kept as security. Despite Ashburnham's efforts, the Carlists did not manage to take power.
Lord Ashburnham also supported Irish Home Rule. This was a movement for Ireland to have its own government. He helped start the British Home Rule Association and was its first president. Their first public meeting was held in London in 1886. This was one of the first public meetings in Great Britain to support Irish Home Rule.
Later Life and Passing
After the Carlist attempt to take power failed and his wife died in 1900, Lord Ashburnham spent less time in public life. He spent more time at his country homes. Don Jaime, the Carlist leader, often visited him at Ashburnham Place.
Lord Ashburnham passed away in Paris on January 15, 1913. His youngest brother, Thomas, became the 6th Earl of Ashburnham.
