The Coleorton Sherwins 1739-1887

This is a summary of the book written by Samuel T. Stewart and is available as a free pdf download from here >>.

The Sherwins were an important old Coleorton family (The Sherwins of Coleorton) of whom there appear to be no local surviving ancestors.The Sherwins also had business interests and owned significant amounts of land outside of Coleorton such as Swannington, Whitwick, Coalville, Broughton in Astley etc., details of which are included in the book.

The last Coleorton Sherwin who left the village in 1855 was William junior (b.1809 in Coleorton, d 1887 in Hampshire). He became a Solicitor, Magistrate, Attorney and J.P. The record of his memorable leaving presentation and testimonial held at the Beaumont Arms and his life story features later in the book. At the end of his life, William Sherwin junior had purchased, and was living with his wife Cecelia Frances, in a manor house on a 400 acre estate in Hampshire.

The name Sherwin and its variants is apparently an important part of the history of the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. We are told by historians that it derives from the elements "Schere" which translates as "to cut through" and "wind" which translates as the wind, and was a name given to a fast runner or a professional messenger. Over the years, many variations of the name were recorded, such as Sherwyn. The first recorded spelling of the family name, is shown to be that of Gilbert Scerewin, which dated c.1160 in The Danelaw Rolls of Lincoln during the reign of King Henry ll. John Shirwyn was recorded in the Norwich Diocese Wills Register in 1479, and John Sherwyn was found in The Pipe Rolls of Suffolk in 1524. Locally, they were first found in Nottinghamshire where the Sherwins of Bramcote Hills held a seat, and were granted A Coat of Arms.

Several Coleorton Sherwin family members are recorded on opposing sides of the base plinth of the large marble memorial in St. Mary's Coleorton Parish Church graveyard. It is likely that the memorial was erected subsequent to William Sherwin senior's death in 1854, by his son William Junior. It is the only marble memorial in the graveyard, and both the memorial and the inscriptions are in excellent condition. There is some evidence to suggest that prior to the memorial being erected, details of the Sherwins, were recorded on individual stone slabs alongside the path to the church, but these seem to have disappeared, presumably when work was done to the path in that area, as part of the installation of services to the church.

In St.Mary's Church, there is a memorial tablet in the area which separates the nave from the vestry. This is to William Sherwin senior of Coleorton (b.1768, d,1854).

The Sherwins were held in high esteem in Coleorton and the wider area, and there is ample evidence that certain members had a close relationship with the Coleorton Hall Beaumonts and assisted them financially when they were experiencing difficulties in that respect. They were clearly a well educated and entrepreneurial family with certain members accruing a considerable amount of wealth. William Sherwin the elder Esq.,(b.1768, d.1854), his son William Junior (b.1809, d.1887) and William the elder's brother John (b.1771, d.1840) are the most interesting members of the family line, but that is probably because more information is available about them.

For more about the Sherwins of Coleorton the book written by Samuel T. Stewart is available as a free pdf download from here >>.

Coleorton Heritage Group

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