Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham

[2] They had four daughters and seven sons, including:[3] The 4th Earl of Ashburnham was a bibliophile who amassed an important collection of printed books and manuscripts and was known as "one of the great collectors of the nineteenth century".

[4]: 131  His incunabula included two copies of the Gutenberg Bible and approximately thirty volumes that had been printed by William Caxton.

Frederic Madden, head of the Museum's manuscript department, recommended the purchase but the Treasury would not grant the necessary funds.

[7] He eventually conceded, based on evidence put forward by Paul Meyer and Léopold Delisle of the Bibliothèque nationale, that some of the Libri and Barrois manuscripts had been stolen but he declined to return them to their rightful owners.

He paid £8,000 for the collection, which had been catalogued in preparation for sale by public auction after the bankruptcy of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos.