The Landor Society is the local history Society for Rugeley and the surrounding parishes. The Society was founded in 1953 and named after Walter Noble Landor, local and county historian and the Society's first president.

The Landor Society, a registered charity is a member of the British Association for Local History, the Council for British Archaeology (West Midlands), Staffordshire History Association, Friends of Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service and Cannock Chase Arts Council. It is affiliated to the Association of Friends of Cannock Chase and keeps in touch with Staffordshire Archaeology Society and village local history societies.

The Society is consulted by the relevant local councils over planning applications for buildings "listed" as of historic or architectural interest and for buildings in conservation areas, both in Rugeley and the surrounding districts.

Members

Members are not experts, just interested amateurs, ordinary people with a desire to learn more about local history. archaeology, crafts, trades, art antiques - and a willingness to spread any local knowledge they may gain. Some are able to be active in local research or campaigns; others are content with attending monthly meetings and occasional outings.

If you would like to consider joining the Society, why not come along to a meeting or two first? You will be very welcome.

The Secretary Mrs Margaret Neal can be contacted on 01889 582709.

The annual subscription is £5.

Meetings

Meetings are held in the Landor Lounge at Sneydlands, Bryans Lane, Rugeley at 7.30pm on the third Wednesday of the month. Summer meetings usually take the form of visits to villages and other nearby places of interest. Please leave the limited parking spaces at Sneydlands for the residents, their visitors and the emergency services. We have permission to park at the Magistrates' Court next door. The barrier will be manned from 7.15 to 7.25 on our meeting nights.

The Landor Society is constantly adding to its collection of local slides and photographs - past and present, local literature, artefacts, ephemera, documents etc., which are used for occasional displays and for answering enquiries. Many items can be loaned (at the Secretary's discretion) to members for research.

Please tell us of your own interests and of any qualifications you have so that we know who to turn to if we get a difficult enquiry. If you do any local research or writing yourself please give us a copy for filing. The Society has already published four booklets by members ("Fair Oak Colliery" and "Beaudesert Legacy" both by Ken Edwards, "Rugeley in Black and White" by Edwina Morgan and "Looking back on Rugeley" by Alec Neal, and a town trail, 'A Walk Through Rugeley'".