This locational name derives from the Old English "Cervelle" recorded in the Saxon Rolls of 681 A.D., making it one of the oldest on record. The name translates as "The Rochy River" from "Carn-waella" and is found in the river Cherewell in Oxford, Northampton and Rutland or from the village of Sherwell in Devon. The modern name spellings are Sherwell, Sherwill and Shervil whilst the name development includes Margaret Shurwell, christened at Hurst, Berkshire, in 1660. Ralph Shervill who married Mary Clarke at St. Georges, Hanover Square, London in 1789 and Harriet Sharwell recorded at Warfield in 1806. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Sherwill. which was dated 1651, Baptised at St. Thomas The Apostle, London. during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, The Lord Protector, 1649 - 1658. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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