Mandy Ford

Amanda Kirstine Ford (known as Mandy; born 1961) is a British Anglican priest who has served as Dean of Bristol since 3 October 2020.

Early life and education Ford was born in 1961 in Wool, Dorset, England. Her father was Sir David Robert Ford, an army officer at the time of her birth who became a civil servant and rose to become Chief Secretary of Hong Kong. She was educated at Cranborne Chase School, an all-girls private boarding school in Wiltshire. She was a self-employed artist from 1988 to 1992, and also a teacher at The Maynard School in Exeter from 1990 to 1996.

Ordained ministry Ford was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2000 and as a priest in 2001.

She had been Canon Chancellor of Southwark Cathedral and Director of Ministerial Education in the Diocese of Southwark since 2014 to 2020. She was also Interim Director of the Ministry Division of the Church of England between 2018 and 2019.

In June 2020, it was announced that she would be the next Dean of Bristol Cathedral. She was installed as the 43rd Dean of Bristol on 3 October 2020: this made the Diocese of Bristol the first Church of England diocese to have women serving as both dean and diocesan bishop.

Selected works