Sherford Road, Elburton, has two other, more recent Sherfords branching off it, Sherford Crescent and Sherford Walk, all three owe their title to one of the oldest names in that area, Sherford Manor, East and West, in the parish of Brixton. At the time of the Domesday Survey William held Sherford from Iudhael, who, incidentally, owned a great deal of land in the area. Prior to 1066 it had been in the possession of Aubrey – no need for surnames in those days, so small was the population, indeed the basic population of the manor then was ten (four villagers and six smallholders), nevertheless it was slightly bigger, and more valuable that Brixton itself.
At that time, 1086, the name was recorded as Sirefort (there is a feature in the area that suggests there may have been an iron age fort there), however later spellings (1242) give it as Scyreford and Westscireford leading scholars to conclude that the name is made up of two elements – “scir” and “ford” meaning “clear or bright ford”. There is another Sherford in Devon – a little to the east of Kingsbridge.
