Margaret Woodford (1479-1507)

Margaret Woodford was the daughter of Ralph Woodford's eldest son, William, and his wife Ann(a) Norwich.  They had no other children.

Margaret was first married to John Turville who died soon after their marriage. She was then married to his brother William Turville. The legality of this marriage was questioned in the Court of Audience before Archbishop Morton and consequently she was 'taken from' William Turville and married to Thomas Morton, the archbishop's nephew.

Margaret and Thomas Morton had one son, John Morton (1498-1521).   An inquisition dated 15 August 1522, and quoted by William Burton, noted that a John Morton `died 21 August 1521 possessed of Sproxton [ ...] land at Melton [...] and the manor of Wyfordby'.  

He married Ellen or Eleanor Roper.  Her brother was Sir William Roper (c. 1496-1578) who married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas More.  Sir William wrote a highly-regarded biography of More.   

John Morton's only daughter, Mary Morton, was born after his death on 15 February 1522 and she married Francis Smith. She died in Croydon in 1568. Consequently, much of the family's manors, land and property passed to the first of two families adopting the name Smith-Carington.

Eleanor Roper later married Sir Edward Montagu.  He was Chief Justice of the King's Bench and a Master of the Bench of the Middle Temple.

The manor of Brentingby passed to the Mortons in 1487 on the death of Margaret's father, William on 28 July 1487.  His Inquisition Post Mortem revealed that Margaret, then aged eight years, was to inherit Brentingby, Wyfordby, Freeby and Garthorpe `held of Ralph'.  This Ralph was her great-uncle, one of the younger sons of Sir Robert Woodford, and not her father.