Andrew de Guldeford was

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...

at some time between 1364 and 1376, probably from 1371 to 1372.Samuel Statham (1899) ''The History of the Castle, Town, and Port of Dover''. London: Longmans, Green & Co. (page 374) On 28 August 1343,

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

ruled on an action involving de Guldeford which was regarded as

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. English conflict with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

had made the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

a target for the Scots who had made demands on the community for monies to keep the peace. Three hundred marks were dispatched in two ships bound for Scotland with livestock and other goods. The fine was for the period of one year, but was intercepted before it reached Scotland by de Guldeford of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, and his accomplices, including John de Bristol and Thomas Sloghtre of Ulton. John Jolens and his son Robert, Adam Serle of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, and Hugh Pyrotson of Ulton, were also named as being present, with three ships from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. De Guldeford claimed his ships to be amongst 'the guardians of the sea', but offered no warrant or authority to this effect, and proceeded to board the Manx ships by force of arms, removing the money, and goods, and taking away with him one of the Manx ships. Further, the pirates carried off a number of the Manx men with them back to Ireland, where they were imprisoned. De Guldeford later served as Lord Warden of the

Cinque Ports The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to th ...

. Piracy is a charge often levelled against the Cinque Ports during the 14th century. It is not certain that de Guldeford was at the time of the incident in any way associated with the Cinque Ports.

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