Meriden, West Midlands
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  Map sources for Meriden, West Midlands at grid reference SP240824
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Meriden is a village and civil parish in the Solihull borough of the West Midlands in England. It is located between Solihull and Coventry, approximately 10 km (6 miles) away from Birmingham International Airport. The surrounding countryside, known as the Meriden Gap, forms a narrow green belt between the two cities. In the 2001 census, the population of the Meriden parish was 2,734.
It is possibly the site of an Iron Age field system. The village claims to be at the very centre of England, and a 500-year-old (some sources say 200-year-old) sandstone pillar-shaped monument to that effect stands in the village green. This medieval village cross is a grade II listed artifact. Recent analysis by the Ordnance Survey [1] has suggested that the true geographical centre of England is a farm situated some 18 kilometres to the northeast, in Leicestershire, though most people still credit Meriden with the honour. Here the Heart of England Way long distance path wends its way and fittingly brings the Staffordshire Heathlands together with the Cotswolds and Arden Forest.
Meriden is also home to a memorial to all the cyclists who died in the First World War. An annual event, at which thousands of cyclists pay their respects to their fallen colleagues and commemorate these deaths, is held in the village. The memorial was unveiled on 21 May 1921, in the presence of over 20,000 cyclists.
Some moated farmsteads and several timber framed buildings can be seen in the village.
Meriden used to be home to a large Triumph Motorcycles factory, which moved from Coventry during World War II, but which closed in the early 1980s. The company is now based in Hinckley in Leicestershire.
The village was the location of a fatal dangerous driving incident involving footballer Lee Hughes, and was at one time home to the largest British advertising agency outside of London.
[edit] External links
- grid reference SP240824
- Cyclists' memorial
- The Heart of England Way Association
- Images of England - Medieval cross (grade II) - photograph and details from listed building text
- 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
