The new Dean of Bradford Cathedral will swap Devon clotted cream for a wider range of curries when he arrives in the city in the autumn.

Canon David Ison, currently on the staff of Exeter Cathedral, will succeed Christopher Hancock who resigned at the end of last year after two and a half years at Bradford.
His appointment was announced to the cathedral congregation on Easter Sunday.

Canon Ison, 50, has been involved in training and ministry development work in the Exeter diocese. He went to Exeter from Coventry in 1993 to be joint principal of the South West Ministry Training Course and Exeter Diocesan Continuing Ministerial Education Officer.

After a year the course decided to have a single full-time principal and, after asking the bishop if he could do full-time work in the diocese, he was appointed a part-time residentiary canon at Exeter Cathedral, where he has had some particular responsibility for library and grants as well as sharing in the running of worship and policy making. He also became director of the Council for Worship and Ministry in 2001.

After gaining a BA degree at Leicester University, Canon Ison trained for the ministry at St John's College, Nottingham and was ordained in 1979. He began his ministry as a curate at Deptford in inner city London before becoming a lecturer at the Church Army training college at Blackheath. After three years at the college, Canon Ison was appointed vicar of Potters Green, Coventry and stayed there until he moved to Exeter. He is married to Hilary, who also a priest and they have four teenage children. Merolyn is at Sandhurst, Judy is a student at London University, Matthew is taking a gap year and Jamie is finishing A Levels.

Mrs Ison trained alongside her husband at Leicester and Nottingham and worked part-time in London, Coventry and Rugby before the family moved to Exeter, where she has been a hospice chaplain, associate minister in a parish and a tutor on the South West Ministry Training Course. For the last four years she has also been Bishop's Advisor for women in ministry.

Canon Ison said: "I'm delighted to have been given the opportunity to serve the cathedral, city and diocese of Bradford. It will be a wrench for Hilary and I to leave Exeter and our many friends there, but we are looking forward with excitement and some trepidation to a new sphere of work and getting to know new colleagues.

"Bradford Cathedral is a parish church and being a vicar again will a particular joy after some years spent in other work.

"When I started as a curate in London we lived in a large inner-city vicarage so, in some ways, Bradford will feel familiar and, although we haven't lived in Yorkshire before, we await its delights with anticipation - friendly people, lovely scenery, vibrant multi-cultural life and a much wider choice of curries though we will miss clotted cream!"

The Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Revd David James said: "I am delighted David Ison will be joining us as our new dean. "He brings to us a deep Christian spirituality, a strong yet gentle personality and a proven commitment to working collaboratively. "I know he will quietly gain the affection and the respect of the cathedral and civic communities. We look forward to welcoming David and Hilary among us after the summer holidays."

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It is likely that David’s Installation will be in the afternoon of Saturday, September 10th.