Meriden, Wast Midlands

Meriden
The traditional centre o Ingland
Meriden Location within theWast Midlands
Population	2,734 (2001)
OS grid reference	SP240824
Metropolitan burgh	Solihull
Metropolitan coonty	Wast Midlands
Region	Wast Midlands
Kintra	Ingland
Sovereign state	Unitit Kinrick
EU Pairlament	Wast Midlands
UK Pairlament	Meriden

Meridenis aveelageanceevil pairishin theMetropolitan Borough of Solihull,Wast Midlands,Ingland.It is locatit atweenSolihullan the city oCoventry,an is approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) fraeBirmingham Internaitional Airport.

The city oMeriden, Connecticut(near the centre o that state) is named efter the veelage.

History an amenities

Kirk o St. Lawrence

Till 1974 Meriden wis pairt oWarwickshire.The surroondin kintraside, kent as theMeriden Gap,forms agreen beltatween the twaurbanareas oBirminghamanCoventry.It gies its name tae theMeridenparliamentary constituency, that covers the Meriden Gap.

TheA45bypass opened in 1958.

In theUnitit Kingdom Census 2001thepopulationo the Meridenpairishwis 2,734.

It is possibly the steid o anIron Agefield system.

Thepairish kirkis dedicatit taeSaunt Lawrencean wis apparently foondit biLady Godiva.It haes aNormanchancelwigargoyleson its roof an a gowdenweathercock.

The Heart of England Way lang-distance path wends its wey an brings theStaffordshireHeathlandsthegither wi theCotswoldsanForest o Arden.

The 16t century Moat Hoose

Meriden is hame tae amemorialtae aw thecycliststhat deet in theFirst Warld War.An annual event, at whilk thoosans o cyclists pey thair respects tae thair fawen colleagues an commemorate thir daiths, is held in the veelage. The memorial wis unveiled on 21 Mey 1921, in the presence o ower 20,000 cyclists.

Some moatit fermsteads an severaltimber-framedbiggins can be seen in the veelage.

Triumph Motorcycles

Commemorative plaque ootside the umwhile steid o the Triumph factory at Meriden unveiled on 7t October 2005

Frae 1941, Meriden uised tae be hame tae the muckleTriumph Motorcyclesproduction plant, that's Priory Street factory inCoventrywis airlier destroyed bi theLuftwaffedurinWarld War II.

As documentit in the beuk,Forty Summers Ago,the factory wis visitit biSteve McQueen,Bud Ekinsan the rest o the 1964 USAInternational Six Day Trialsteam tae collect thair specially prepared Triumphs.Richard Gere,in an interview promotin his 2002 filmChicago,claint tae hae picked up his Triumph motorcycle frae the factory (misidentifyin it's location), albeit in the mid-1970s whiles tourin wi theGreasestage production.

In 1973, Triumph wirkers blockadit the factory frae the new awners,NVT,tae prevent closur. The govrenment loaned the subsequentMeriden Workers Co-Operativemoney tae buy the factory an later tae mercat the Triumph motorcycles thay produced. Tradin later as Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd., the co-operative eventually closed in the early-1983, the factory bein demolished the follaein year.The new company,Triumph Motorcycles Ltdwhich wis established in 1984, an muivit taeHinckley,Leicestershirein 1988.

A hoosin estate haes been biggit on the steid o the Triumph motorcycle factory at Meriden. Road names on the estate include Triumph motorcycle model names sic as Bonneville Close an Daytona Drive. A plaque commemoratin the steid's umwhile uise staunds ootside Bonneville Close.

Traditional Centre o Ingland

Plaque on the sandstane cross which marks the traditional centre o Ingland

The veelage haes claimed tae be at the vera centre o England, an a 500-year-auld (some soorces say 200-year-auld)saundstanepillar-shaped monument tae that effect staunds in theveelage green.Thismedievalveelage cross is agrade II leetitairtifact.

In 2002 the Ordnance Survey defined theGeographical Centre of Englandtae be on Lindley Hall Farm, approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) north atFenny Drayton,Leicestershire.

In 2003 theOrdnance Surveyplaced Kirk Flatts ferm, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) north, atCoton in the Elms,Derbyshire, as the furthest pynt frae the sea in Great Breetain.

Freemit airtins

• Cyclists' memorial
• The Heart of England Way Association
• Images of England - Moat House (grade II) - photograph and details from listed building text
• Images of England - Church of St Lawrence (grade A) - photograph and details from listed building text
• Meriden Festival 2007 WebsiteArchived2011-06-16 at theWayback Machine
• www.geograph.co.uk photos of Meriden and surrounding area
• British Pathé video reel, featuring Meriden in 1943Archived2011-06-11 at theWayback Machine