Sandford (Sanford), John of (d. 1294), archbishop of Dublin and justiciar of Ireland, has usually been referred to as the brother of Fulk de Sandford (qv), archbishop of Dublin, in which case he would have been connected to the Basset family, but it is more likely that he was Fulk's illegitimate son. He was vicar general of the archbishop of Dublin between 1267 and 1269, treasurer of the chapter of Ferns in 1269, and between 1271 and 1274 was granted a number of benefices in England. Appointed escheator of Ireland on 16 September 1271, a position he held until 6 August 1285, he was a remarkably efficient administrator, exhibiting a commitment and energy that could hardly be matched by others within the Dublin bureaucracy. In December 1272 he was one of those nominated by the regents in England to take the fealty of Irish magnates for the new king, Edward I, and he seems to have attended the coronation in 1274.
Late in that year Sandford was promoted dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and in 1275 began an occasional career as a justice itinerant; his first task was to inquire into the disturbances in Ulster between William fitz Warin, seneschal of Ulster, and the Mandevilles. He returned to Ulster after fitz Warin complained about his treatment at the hands of Richard de Burgh (qv), the new earl of Ulster, in 1282. He was regularly commissioned to audit the accounts of the justiciars, and in recognition of his good service in Ireland the king granted him the custody of valuable estates there in 1280. In 1282 he was charged with negotiating a subsidy from Ireland in aid of the Welsh war, and the following year received a generous grant from Robert of Ufford (qv), the former justiciar, of extensive lands in Connacht. He seems to have worked closely with Ufford, and campaigned with him in Connacht in 1277, in Laois and Offaly in 1279 and 1280, and again in Connacht and then Thomond in 1281. He was also constituted constable of Newcastle McKynegan and Castlekevin in Wicklow in 1277–8.
He was unanimously elected archbishop of Dublin by the chapters of St Patrick's and the Holy Trinity, before 20 July 1284. In May 1285, while he was at Rome with members of both chapters to have his election approved by the pope, it was found that a dispensation he had gained for his illegitimacy, which he insisted had received papal sanction, was deficient, and there was no such record in the papal archives. Not only was his election as archbishop now under threat, so too were his clerical livings in England and Ireland. Intense lobbying of the papal curia by Edward's representatives there, and the election of a new pope, changed matters. Sandford was still required to resign as archbishop but he received a retrospective dispensation for his illegitimate birth. Gregory X then asked that all the representatives of the Dublin chapters in Rome vote for a new archbishop of Dublin. Sandford's colleagues once more unanimously selected him, while he, modestly, voted for another member of the delegation. He was confirmed archbishop of Dublin on 30 May 1285, received his temporalities on 6 August that year, and was consecrated on 7 April the following year.
After the sudden death of the justiciar, Stephen of Fulbourn, archbishop of Tuam, on 3 July 1288, Sandford was made, or constituted himself, ‘guardian of the land’. On 7 July he was made ‘keeper’ (custos) of Ireland by the king's Irish council, and thereafter was variously addressed as keeper, deputy justiciar, and justiciar, though it appears he was never formally appointed justiciar by the king. The fortunate survival of accounts of his expenses allows a thorough reconstruction of his justiciarship, and it confirms the confidence placed in him by the council. He spent much of his time in office, until the arrival of his successor, William de Vescy (qv), on 10 November 1290, itinerating throughout the lordship, imposing peace and negotiating with recalcitrants. Even allowing for the self-congratulatory hyperbole of this account, he was remarkably successful. His particular concern was the Irish of Laois and Offaly, who were in rebellion; initially he instituted a novel and effective system of wards, in cooperation with local magnates, to contain the scale of the disturbances while he went off to attend to similar, if less immediately serious, threats in Desmond and Connacht. He led a large royal army into Laois in autumn 1289 and forcibly brought the Irish there to the king's peace. This campaign was followed the next year by a tour throughout the country, during which he heard complaints against officials in local administration and did what he could to impose reform. His complete dominance of the administration was further enhanced by his service as keeper of the Irish seal between 8 April 1289 and 9 March 1291.
Sandford seems to have left Ireland shortly after March 1291 and was present at negotiations for the ‘great cause’ – the arbitration over the rightful heir to the Scottish throne. He backed the claim of John Balliol and witnessed his fealty to Edward. In September 1293 he officiated at the marriage of the king's daughter, Eleanor, to the count of Bar. In June 1294, along with Anthony Bek, he was sent to negotiate a treaty with Adolf of Nassau, king of the Romans. He returned with the treaty to England, landing at Yarmouth. There he contracted a fatal illness and died on 2 October 1294. He was buried at St Patrick's, Dublin, on 20 February 1295.