   meriden is a village and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of solihull, west midlands, england. it is located between solihull and the city of coventry, and is approximately  from birmingham international airport. the us city of meriden, near the centre of connecticut, is named after the village. == history and amenities == thumb|left||church of st. laurence until 1974, meriden was part of warwickshire. the surrounding countryside, known as the meriden gap, forms a green belt between the two urban areas of birmingham and coventry. it gives its name to the meriden parliamentary constituency, which covers the meriden gap. the a45 bypass opened in 1958. in the united kingdom census 2001 the population of the meriden parish was 2,734. it is possibly the site of an iron age field system. the original name of the village was alspath and it was centred on the site of the parish church. over the period 15c to 17c the name 'meriden' gradually supplants that of alspath. the parish church of st. laurence was built on the site of a simple saxon church erected on her own land by lady godiva - the wife of leofric earl of mercia in the years prior to the norman conquest; however although references to a church/chapel dedicated to st edmund on the site have been found no physical remains have ever been uncovered. the present church was built in several stages. the nave and two thirds of the chancel were finished by the late 12c - late norman - and were built as an expiation for sins committed during the civil war between stephen & matilda. the chancel was extended in 13c; the south aisle was added in the late 14c. the north aisle was added in the early 15c as was the tower; and the norman roof was replaced in 15c also. by 1831 the aisles had been rebuilt with galleries and you can see the industrial quality of the stonework outside the building compared to the 14/15c 
Solihull Villages_in_the_West_Midlands_(county)