Show ContentsShardelow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The origins of the Shardelow name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in the township of Shardlow in the parish of Aston-upon-Trent in the county of Derbyshire. This place name was listed as Serdelau in the Domesday Book and Shardelow in 1279 in the Calendar of Fines of the County of Derby. 1

Early Origins of the Shardelow family

The surname Shardelow was first found in Derbyshire, at Shardlow, a village that dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Serdelau and literally meant "mound with a notch or indentation" from the Old English words sceard + hlaw. 2

Sir John de Shardelowe or Scherdelow (died 1344?) was an English judge who appeared as an "advocate in the reign of Edward II, and on 28 Jan. 1332 was appointed a judge of the court of common pleas and received knighthood. During his lifetime he settled his manor of Thompson, Norfolk, upon his elder son, Sir John de Shardelowe, and, in addition, died seised of the manor of Fulbourn and of lands in Leverington and Wisbeach in Cambridgeshire, of the manors of Barrow and Cowlinge or Cooling, and of lands in Brandon, Cavenham, and elsewhere in Suffolk, and of land in Downham in Norfolk." 3

Early History of the Shardelow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shardelow research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1589 is included under the topic Early Shardelow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shardelow Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Shardelow were recorded, including Shardelow, Shardlow, Shardlowe, Shardelowe, Shardlaw, Shardelaw, Shardalow, Shardeloe, Shardloe, Shartlow, Shartloe, Shatlow, Shatloe and many more.

Early Notables of the Shardelow family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Sir John Shardelow of Shimpling, Norfolk

Ireland Migration of the Shardelow family to Ireland

Some of the Shardelow family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shardelow family

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Shardelow family emigrate to North America: William Shardloe, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682; a D. Shatlow, who arrived in San Francisco in 1852; as well as Betsy Shardlow of Nottinghamshire, England and her daughter Dorothy, age 4 who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1908..


Contemporary Notables of the name Shardelow (post 1700) +

  • Leonard Shardelow, physiologist


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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