Meir, Staffordshire

(Redirected from Meir Aerodrome)

Meir is a suburb in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire situated between Lightwood and Longton.[1][2] Meir Park estate extends from Meir uphill to the Meir Heath and Rough Close village hall, located in Meir Heath.

Meir
The A520 leading north, across the roundabout at Meir
Meir is located in Staffordshire
Meir
Meir
Location within Staffordshire
OS grid referenceSJ927427
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townStoke-on-Trent
Postcode districtST3
Dialling code01782
PoliceStaffordshire
FireStaffordshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Staffordshire
52°58′40″N 2°06′18″W / 52.9779°N 2.1051°W / 52.9779; -2.1051

Meir Aerodrome

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Meir Aerodrome closed in the early 1970s[3] and the site has now become the Meir Park housing estate. The earlier parts have mainly aviation-associated street names. The last official flight was on 16 August 1973 when Fred Holdcroft flew a Piper Tri-Pacer carrying a Sentinel journalist to Manchester.[4] The last unofficial flight "a year or two" later by Eric Clutton was in a home-made folding machine called FRED (Flying Runabout Experimental Design) which the pilot towed home behind his car.[5][6] The light planes used to be parked on the grass alongside the A50 road, opposite the Airport Garage, which remains. Staffordshire Potteries had a factory (now demolished) beside the aerodrome.

Schools

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Transport

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Entrance to the tunnel under the roundabout

Meir is situated along the A50. At the centre sits the junction with the A520. Once a notorious traffic jam site, a tunnel was built in 1997 to take the A50 underneath. The twin tunnels were walled with ceramic panels which were reported to have cost about £1,000 each when they began to come loose through rusting of their attachments after a few years[citation needed].

Meir was served by a railway station from 1894 to 1966.

Nearest places

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References

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  1. ^ Cartlidge, Nicholas Jon (1996). A Meir Half Century. Photographs and news both church and secular from the years 1889 to 1939 covering the Meir and its near neighbours. Leek: Churnet Valley Books. ISBN 1-897949-15-4.
  2. ^ Cartlidge, Nicholas (2004). Meir Today, Gone Tomorrow. An affectionate portrait from within living memory. Leek: Churnet Valley Books. ISBN 1-904546-22-6.
  3. ^ Lycett-Smith, Roger (1998). Airfield Focus 34: Stoke on Trent (Meir). Peterborough: GMS Enterprises. ISBN 1-870384-68-7.
  4. ^ Holdcroft, Geoff (9 May 2006). "My father made last flight from Meir". The Sentinel.
  5. ^ Cartlidge, Nicholas (15 May 2006). "FRED deserves flight accolade". The Sentinel.
  6. ^ Clutton, Eric (2003). An Aeroplane called FRED. Tullahoma, Tennessee.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)