THE DUGDALE SOCIETY: Merevale Hall, the home of Mr Matthew Dugdale, was the setting for the Dugdale Society's annual meeting. The society's president, Sir William Dugdale, presided. Sir William told the 70 members and guests who attended that Dr Levi Fox had decided to step down as chairman of the society. Dr Fox had been involved with the society since 1947, firstly as its secretary and general editor and latterly as chairman. The members unanimously agreed with the president's proposal that Dr Fox be elected a vice-president of the society.

A new chairman was elected in the person of Professor Christopher Dyer of the Centre for English Local History at Leicester University. Professor Dyer is a native of Welford, attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford and has been a member of the council of the Dugdale Society for many years. He has published extensively, many of his works are based on the local history of Warwickshire and the midlands.

The speaker was Dr Roland Quinault from London Metropolitan University, whose title was Landlords and Labourers: Warwickshire politics c 1870-1920. He showed how the natural political leaders of the county, the landed gentry, adapted to the new requirements of democracy as a growing number of middle and working class men gained the right to vote.

The Dugdale Society, based at the Shakespeare Centre in Henley Street, publishes, under the general editorship of Dr Robert Bearman, volumes of texts of original documents relating to the county of Warwickshire. The most recent, Stratford Inventories, 1538-1699, edited in two volumes by Mrs Jeanne Jones, was issued to members as the volumes for 2002 and 2003.

These give an insight into the lives of Stratford residents in the Tudor and Stuart period. Next year's volume will be an edition of the diaries of Sanderson Miller, the 18th century gentleman architect who lived at Radway. For a full list of titles available and details of membership of the society contact Mrs Cathy Millwood at the Records Office in the Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford, CV37 6QW. Telephone 01789 201816 or look at the website: www.shakespeare.org.uk/dugdale.