Ashburnham is a scattered village, five miles west of Battle in East Sussex.

The village is named from the Saxon for "The enclosure on the river Ashbourne".

Pre-Saxon activity is evident nearby at Town Creep, an Iron Age site. The site comprises earthworks about 250 metres long that may be the lost town of Mercredsburn, which was conquered by the Saxon, Aella, in 491 AD, prior to his sacking of Pevensey.

Ashburnham appears in the Domesday Book as Esseborne and within the village were 3 salt houses, salt being a valuable commodity. The village is recorded as having a value of £6 before the invasion, but only £1 after, the Normans pillaging and laying waste the villages near the battle.

The Ashburnham family controlled the village from the 1100's until 1953, when Lady Catherine, the last in line, died.

Ashburnham has a long industrial history and was well known for its iron furnace (closed 1813), its iron forge (closed 1826) and its brickworks (closed 1968). It is now known for Ashburnham Place, the former home of the Earls, which is now a christian conference centre. The Lost Heritage website includes an extensive history of the House and its varied life.

In 1810 the parishes of Penhurst and Ashburnham were united. 

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