The centre of England is widely believed to be at Meriden, near Coventry.
|  | The monument marking the centre of England in Meriden |
The town even has a 500-year old monument as a testament to this. But, is it really at the heart of the country?
In October 2002, BBC News Online made a series of reports into the centres of Great Britain, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales - and the results provide a few surprises.
See their report on Meriden by following the link to 'A tale of two centres' on the left.
BBC News Online reporter Brady Haran spent two weeks and covered more than 1,300 miles in his quest to discover the geographic centre of Great Britain, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Everyone can visit the sites, linked on the left, read the reports and debate the issues raised.
Meriden's claims could be false | |
Using the Ordnance Survey's Gravitational Method of mapping, the BBC discovered Meriden is no longer the centre of England. Instead, it is pinpointed to a small farm near the town of Fenny Drayton in Leicestershire.
There are many ways to define the geographic centre of an irregular shaped object such as the UK land mass.
The method the BBC adopted is the one preferred by the Ordnance Survey, known as the Gravitational or Centre-of-gravity method.
To put it simply, in this method a computer is used to find the point at which a cardboard cut-out of the country could be balanced on the tip of a pencil - its centre of gravity.
The calculations used in determining the centre of gravity also takes into account the nation's many small islands.
Being the central point of England has always been important to Meriden's identity.
We think this new research raises lots of questions and we'd like your views.
Do you have a view on whether it matters if Meriden is not the centre?
Do you believe the BBC's new claims?
Should the monument in Meriden be removed?
Does Meriden's central status attract visitors that wouldn't otherwise travel to Meriden?
Please let us know what you think by emailing us using the link on the left.
Follow the link to the Where I Live talkboard to see what other people have said on the issue.
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