Name William Ashburnham | Role Royalist | |
William Ashburnham (c. 1604–1679) was an English army officer and MP.
Biography
William Ashburnham was the younger brother of John Ashburnham.
He was returned as MP for Ludgershall in both the parliaments held in 1640 but was expelled from the Long Parliament on 9 December 1641 for his part in the Army Plots of that year.
He fought as an officer for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War and in 1644 was governor of Weymouth, a place he kept four months for King Charles. Ten years later, on 3 June 1654, he was arrested and examined on the charge of complicity in the plot to murder the Protector Oliver Cromwell for which Gerard and Vowel afterwards suffered. He does not, however, appear to have been sent before the high court of justice.
After the Restoration of the monarchy he was made cofferer of the royal household. He was frequently a fellow-guest and a sharer in treasury business with Pepys, who styles him an "experienced man and a cavalier". His "odd stories" are duly noted, and there was one touching the lease of Ashburnham House from the dean and chapter of Westminster, wherein the "devilish covetousness" of Dr. Busby was commemorated. He was returned again as MP for Ludgershall from 1661 until his death in 1679.