Meriden, West Midlands

The area has been occupied since the Stone Age, as evidenced by flints in the Blythe Valley. Bronze Age swords have also been found in Meriden. In 43 AD, nearby Corley Rocks marked the southern limit of the cattle rearing Cornovii tribe. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, the name 'Meriden' gradually supplanted that of Alspath as the straggling settlement at the foot of the hill grew in importance. By 1686 the population had grown to 290 people. By 1772 there were 93 cottages and houses. In 1811 the village had 152 homes, 171 families and 817 people." Following the Norman Conquest, the overlordship of Alspath/Meriden passed successively through the hands of the Earls of Chester (1080), the Segrave family (1220), the Mowbray Earls of Norfolk (late 14th century), the Stanley Earls of Derby (1468/1501), and the Earls of Aylesford (1784). After his death the manor was split amongst his four daughters: • A manor based on the original siting, around the church and occupied since 1481 by the building of Moat House farm. • The fifth subdivision (Marbrook Hall) near Hollyberry End, near the junction of Shaft Lane and Becks Lane, is now considered a later claim. It is, however, located within a narrow band of castles with significant historical interest. to the north is Maxstoke Castle, one of the three seats of the Stafford Dukes of Buckingham in the mid-to-late 15th century and deemed to be a favourite residence of Lady Margaret Beaufort after her second marriage into the Stafford family. south is Kenilworth Castle, site of the longest siege in English history; and south is Warwick Castle, the seat of Warwick the Kingmaker, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. The escape of the powerful Marcher lord, Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, one of only two escapes from the Tower of London in its history, involves a critical Meriden connection. Constable Stephen Segrave and Deputy Constable of the Tower Gerard Alspath were Overlord and Lord of the Manor of Meriden/Alspath, respectively. Gerard was implicated in the escape; but Segrave escaped the initial reprisal, as described by the 14th-century chronicler Henry Knighton from St Mary de Pratis Abbey, Leicester, better known as Leicester Abbey: listing Stephen's excuse being that he had been duped by a supposedly loyal servant in whom he had confidence, Gerard Alspath. Another person involved in the escape was a progenitor of John Wyard of what is now Walsh Hall, whose effigy resides in the parish church. The last male Walsh owner of Walsh Hall, Sir Richard Walsh, was the Sheriff of Worcestershire who cornered the last group of Gunpowder Plot conspirators in 1605. Shortly before the first battle of the English Civil War in 1642, south at Edgehill, the royal army camped on Meriden Heath whilst the King slept at nearby Packington Hall. When Bonnie Prince Charlie marched south in the last of the great Jacobite rebellions in 1745, the government forces, recalled from the continent and assembled to oppose him, waited on Meriden Heath under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. The novelist George Eliot visited her sister in Meriden repeatedly until 1854. Her sister is buried in the churchyard of St Laurence's parish church. In 1897, Jane (Jeannie) Monckton founded Meriden School, located in Strathfield, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which took the name 'Meriden' from this town. It was named due to the happy memories that her husband had as a child holidaying in Meriden, and the hope that the school would be a similar place of happy childhood memories. Today, it is an independent Anglican single-sex day school for girls, with approximately 1600 students from early learning, through Year K to Year 12. The grindcore band Napalm Death was formed in Meriden in 1981 == Traditional Centre of England ==

Meriden was identified as the centre of England in 1829. That designation was shown to be inaccurate in 1920, when the first systematic attempt was made to validate the claim. A grade II listed sandstone monument on the village green carries a plaque commemorating Meriden's status as Centre of England. Traditionally known as the sandstone cross, a photograph from 1879 shows a garland that would have originally enclosed a cross on top of the monument, like the one at Hockwold cum Wilton. The garland was lost between 1879 and 1885. The cross was originally located in the old centre of the village, where the road initially came in from Berkswell before the junction was straightened in 1785. The monument was moved to the village green in 1822. It was moved yet again to its current position on the green in 1952–1953. == St Laurence Parish Church ==

The parish church of St. Laurence was built on the site of a simple Saxon church, dedicated to St. Edmund, erected on her own land by Lady Godiva—the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia in the years prior to the Norman conquest. The present church was built in several stages. The nave and two-thirds of the chancel were finished by the late 12th century—late Norman—and were probably built as an expiation for sins committed during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda by Ivo de Alspath. St Mary's Priory, Coventry, and the Benedictine Priory at Monk's Kirby near Rugby being two notable targets of his overlord, the Earl of Chester's, raiding parties—the earl having remained aloof from taking sides and instead forming marauding bands to raid, pillage and to pocket crown taxes. The chancel was extended in the 13th century, and the south aisle and the tower were added in the late 14th. The north aisle was added, and the Norman roof was replaced in the 15th century. Around 1831, both aisles were demolished and rebuilt with galleries to provide more space for the congregation. It is possible see the industrial quality of the stonework outside the building compared to the 14th or 15th century stone used inside. A few gravestones have been used in the external stonework. In 1883, the church was restored again, and those galleries were removed. At some point the 15th century wooden ceilings of both nave and chancel had been plastered over, and these were uncovered during a restoration in 1924. Finally, extensive restorations of the medieval roof and tower were carried out circa 2006–10. The current siting of alabaster effigies in the church is of 20th-century origin. There are pictures of an earlier 19th century siting in the centre of the nave. To the right, where his chantry was located is John Wyard, a late 14th century man at arms (never knighted) who was part of the retinue for the then Beauchamp Earl of Warwick. The effigy to the left represents Sir Thomas Bottiler who died at the Battle of Northampton (at the same time as the 1st Duke of Buckingham. On the left is a squint, an opening allowing penitents from a side chapel to witness the raising of the Host at the main altar. The Saint Laurence/Lawrence (spelling interchangeable) to whom the church is dedicated may be either Lawrence of Rome who was one of the seven deacons of the early church martyred during the persecution of Emperor Valerian in 258 AD; or it may have been Laurence of Canterbury who became the second Archbishop of Canterbury in 604 AD. Legend favors the latter, although, from 1318 onward, the choice of 10 August for the Patronal feast day and the village fair (until 1959) would indicate the Roman Lawrence. The Heart of England Way long-distance path, linking the Staffordshire Heathlands together with the Cotswolds and the Forest of Arden, passes through the churchyard. ==National Cyclists Memorial==

Meriden is home to a memorial obelisk dedicated to the cyclists who died in the First World War. National cycling organisations commemorate these deaths with an annual mid-May service on the green. The grey granite memorial originally cost £1,100 and was unveiled on 21 May 1921 in the presence of over 20,000 cyclists. The village's own war memorial is at the Berkswell Road turn-off from the Meriden main road, opposite the pool. It takes the form of a wayside shrine with a crucified Jesus and is located on the land donated by Letitia Banks, heiress of Meriden Hall and wife of Captain Edward Banks. Edward Banks was the first WWI death from the village, due to friendly fire at the Battle of St Julien in 1915. He is commemorated in a stained glass window in the church. == Triumph motorcycles ==

From 1941 until 1983, Meriden was associated with the large Triumph motorcycles production plant. Its original Priory Street factory in Coventry was destroyed by the Luftwaffe during World War II. As documented in the book Forty Summers Ago, the factory was visited by Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins with the rest of the 1964 U.S. International Six Day Trials team to collect their specially prepared Triumphs. In 1973, Triumph workers blockaded the factory from the new owners, Norton Villiers Triumph (NVT), to prevent closure. The government loaned the subsequent Meriden Workers Co-Operative money to buy the factory and later to market the Triumph motorcycles they produced. The sit-in and formation of the co-operative were the subject of much media interest including David Edgar's play, Events Following The Closure Of A Motorcycle Factory. Trading later as Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd., the co-operative eventually closed in August 1983, A housing development was built on the site of the Triumph motorcycle factory at Meriden, now known as Millisons Wood, up the hill out of the main village. Road names on the estate include Triumph motorcycle model names Bonneville Close and Daytona Drive. A plaque commemorating the site's former use stands outside Bonneville Close. ==References==