The place is occasionally written simply with the first part of the name, which has been spelt variously over the centuries. Originally "Sibton" (in the
Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as "Sibetune"), from
Saxon origin meaning "Sibba's
farmstead". The second part of the full name, Carwood, means "the wood where the rocks are found". The name Carwood is also given to a wooded slope, north of Wart Hill in the north of Hopesay parish, and to three cottages there. The
Norman barons who locally had their power base at
Clun Castle, the
de Say (or "Sai") family, held the
manor after the
Norman conquest of England. During the
medieval period, the
Welsh Marches was an area of instability and conflict, ruled by the
Marcher lords. The Domesday Book records Sibdon as having 6 households, making it quite a small manor population-wise. The fortified manor at Sibdon Carwood, the predecessor to the 17th-century Sibdon Castle country house, is given the name "Shepeton Corbet" by a number of historical documents, including that of
John Leland (c. 1535–43), who also gives the suffix to
Hopton Castle and
Moreton Corbet castle. This is an indication that the Corbet family owned these fortified manors around the time, of which
Moreton Corbet's castle retains the suffix to this day. About a mile to the north, in the neighbouring hamlet of
Cheney Longville, was
Cheney Longville Castle. A description of the parish published in 1848 records that 59 people lived in the parish, which was wholly owned by the Sibdon Castle estate. It also noted a
perpetual curacy, with a net income of £50. Originally the manor of Sibdon was part of the
hundred of
Rinlau, as recorded in the Domesday Book, however in the 12th century the hundreds of Shropshire were greatly reformed and the parish from then on came within the hundred of
Purslow. In 1894 it became part of
Ludlow Rural District and then in 1974 the
non-metropolitan district of
South Shropshire. In 2009 there was
another re-organisation of local administration, with the creation of a
unitary authority covering
most of Shropshire. The nearby town of Craven Arms is a relatively recent development in the area – it was established only in the mid-19th century, being at the junction of a number of newly-laid railway lines. With much of its recent growth towards the west of the town, its urban area has reached Watling Street and its outskirts fringe into Sibdon Carwood parish. ==The hamlet==