Research Notes:
Rosie Bevan stated, [1]
Cecily, the wife of John de Sanford senior, was the daughter of Adam de
Sewardstone. In 1223 she was called to answer accusations of waste in
Essex which she held of the inheritance of John de Sanford (the
younger). She married Matthew Maunsell after her husband John's
death.[Bracton's Note Book, no.1617].In 1240 Gilbert de Sanford, son of John junior, unsuccessfully claimed
the vill of Sewardstone which had been given by Henry II to Waltham
abbey around 1178 as part of its refoundation dower. Gilbert said that
it rightly belonged to his grandmother Cecilia who was then under age
and a royal ward and heir to her father Adam. In 1278 Gilbert's
daughter and heir, Alice, then countess of Oxford again tried to
establish a claim to Sewardstone, but was unsuccesful.[Rosalind
Ransford, The Early Charters of Waltham Abbey, 1062-1230 (Boydell,
1989) nos. 26, 287]
[1] Newsgroup Post, soc.genealogy.medieval, Rosie Bevan, September 10, 2005, [GoogleGroups_SGM].