Meriden, Wast Midlands

**Meriden** is a veelage an ceevil pairish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, Wast Midlands, Ingland. It is locatit atween Solihull an the city o Coventry, an is approximately 10&nbsp;km (6.2&nbsp;mi) frae Birmingham Internaitional Airport.

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

## History an amenities

Till 1974 Meriden wis pairt o Warwickshire. The surroondin kintraside, kent as the Meriden Gap, forms a green belt atween the twa urban areas o Birmingham an Coventry. It gies its name tae the Meriden parliamentary constituency, that covers the Meriden Gap.

The A45 bypass opened in 1958.

In the Unitit Kingdom Census 2001 the population o the Meriden pairish wis 2,734.

It is possibly the steid o an Iron Age field system.

The pairish kirk is dedicatit tae Saunt Lawrence an wis apparently foondit bi Lady Godiva. It haes a Norman chancel wi gargoyles on its roof an a gowden weathercock.

The Heart of England Way lang-distance path wends its wey an brings the Staffordshire Heathlands thegither wi the Cotswolds an Forest o Arden.

Meriden is hame tae a memorial tae aw the cyclists that deet in the First 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 several timber-framed biggins can be seen in the veelage.

## Triumph Motorcycles

Frae 1941, Meriden uised tae be hame tae the muckle Triumph Motorcycles production plant, that's Priory Street factory in Coventry wis airlier destroyed bi the Luftwaffe durin Warld War II.

As documentit in the beuk, *Forty Summers Ago*, the factory wis visitit bi Steve McQueen, Bud Ekins an the rest o the 1964 USA International Six Day Trials team tae collect thair specially prepared Triumphs. Richard Gere, in an interview promotin his 2002 film *[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]*, claint tae hae picked up his Triumph motorcycle frae the factory (misidentifyin it's location), albeit in the mid-1970s whiles tourin wi the *[[Grease (muisical)|Grease]]* stage production.

In 1973, Triumph wirkers blockadit the factory frae the new awners, NVT, tae prevent closur. The govrenment loaned the subsequent Meriden Workers Co-Operative money 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 Ltd which wis established in 1984, an muivit tae Hinckley, Leicestershire in 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

The veelage haes claimed tae be at the vera centre o England, an a 500-year-auld (some soorces say 200-year-auld) saundstane pillar-shaped monument tae that effect staunds in the veelage green. This medieval veelage cross is a grade II leetit airtifact.

In 2002 the Ordnance Survey defined the Geographical Centre of England tae be on Lindley Hall Farm, approximately 18 kilometres (11&nbsp;mi) north at Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire.

In 2003 the Ordnance Survey placed Kirk Flatts ferm, approximately 35 kilometres (22&nbsp;mi) north, at Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire, as the furthest pynt frae the sea in Great Breetain.

## References

## Freemit airtins

*Cyclists' memorial
*The Heart of England Way Association
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*Meriden Festival 2007 Website 
*www.geograph.co.uk photos of Meriden and surrounding area
*British Pathé video reel, featuring Meriden in 1943