Back in February when we announced that St Mary’s, Wirksworth had been awarded a National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant for urgent repairs to the nave roof, few of us imagined the country would be spending spring in lock down.

There’s lots been going on behind the scenes to reschedule the work, along with events and tours we had planned. We’ve brought forward the filming of a ‘virtual tower tour’ and have commissioned local film maker Gavin Repton to make the film, with poet Mark Gwyn Jones as your tour guide.

We also got the all clear from the ecologists, who checked that we wouldn’t be disturbing any nesting or roosting bats. Although none were living in the church, the ecologists spotted pipistrelles commuting through the churchyard on their way to feeding sites, a few even foraged in the churchyard itself.

Changes to government guidance mean that the scaffolders and builders have started preparing the site for the vital repair work to take place. With Wirksworth’s regular community photographer Phil Richards keeping his distance for the time being, Kath Gill has accepted our request to help us document the process. It's Kath's photo accompanying this story, and we look forward to sharing more of her pictures with you.