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Shermanbury's history begins back with the Saxon colonisation of the Weald. Lying next to an ancient drove route the manor was originally an outlier of Kingston Buci on the coast whose local officials may well have constructed an early fortress here for protection, the name of the parish derives from the Saxon for 'stronghold of the shire men'. The original stronghold was believed to be located on a small hillock surrounded by streams on three sides from which the manor of Shermanbury grew and where a Saxon church was later added which was mentioned in the Domesday Book. However, no village grew, for centuries the main areas of population within the parish were located on the fringes at Kent Street and Wyndham (Later Wineham). The current village of Shermanbury is largely ribbon development along the A281 that began in the 19th century.