The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey[2] but was probably first developed in Saxon times.

[3] Many of the older buildings in the village are constructed of the local oolitic limestone, also used in other traditional north Bedfordshire settlements.

The village has two schools, the larger of which Sharnbrook Academy has a campus on the west of the village, serves a wide area and was attended by the marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe, who opened the Paula Radcliffe Sharnbrook Community Sports Centre named after her in April 2005.

The village's other school is Sharnbrook Primary which caters for young children aged from 3–11 years old who live in the immediate area.

Another major presence is the multinational company Unilever which has the Lipton Institute of Tea research centre on the north-western edge of the village.