Anyone who has been to Hanley Castle recently will have noticed the scaffolding around St Mary’s Church. This is because the much-needed repair work to the roof is now under way at long last. We are very grateful to English Heritage for the grant that is making this possible; the parish of course still has to fund part of the work, but without the grant it we would not have been able to proceed before the problems with the roof had taken a greater toll on the interior.