Who’s who
Clergy
Rev’d Carol Barrett Ford
Vicar
Mthr Carol taught English for twenty years before becoming a priest. She served her curacy in an urban priority area church in inner city Newcastle upon Tyne, followed by her appointment as Chaplain to St John’s College, Cambridge where she also served as Acting Dean of Chapel. After leaving Cambridge she was Vicar of St Martin’s Church, Gospel Oak.
Mthr Carol is Area Dean of Camden and actively involved in Initial Ministerial Education for the Edmonton Area, working with curates in their first three years of ministry.
She loves music and art and walking on the Heath with her husband Alun and their wire-haired fox terrier, Tonwen.
Fr Yin-An Chen
Assistant Curate
Fr Yin-An (胤安, pronounced Ian) was born and grew up in Taipei City, Taiwan. He came to England in 2014 to do research degrees in theology at Durham and then Kent. His research project was on French philosophy, political theology, and spirituality.
Fr Yin-An trained for the priesthood at Westcott House in Cambridge. Following his ordination at Lichfield Cathedral in 2022, he served in Oswestry. He also has ministerial experience in St George’s Borough (London), the Parish of Putney (London), and the Benefice of Fulbourn and the Wilbrahams (outside Cambridge).
He loves nature walks (better not muddy), reading academic publications (in a wide range of disciplines), and having tea and (unsugary) cake. He is in a civil partnership with Tim, who proudly volunteers with Citizen Advice.
Fr Ben Sheridan
Assistant Curate
Fr Ben came to faith in his mid twenties, and had been exploring a vocation to ministry ever since. After a number of years working in advertising, he put his calling to the test at St Martin-in-the-Fields where he worked with Revd Dr Sam Wells as a Sheppard Scholar, in areas of theological education, church renewal, spiritual practice and homelessness.
After 3 years St Martin’s he went on to train at Westcott House Cambridge, formally studying theology and serving a number of communities including the Cambridge United Foundation and Littlehey Prison in the area of chaplaincy.
He is husband to Adelaide and together they have two young children; and adores time with his family. Also he enjoys good coffee, vegetarian food, and playing and watching a variety of sports. He believes God’s love can be found in all people and in all places.
Readers
Handley Stevens
Handley has been a Reader since 1991, coming to Hampstead in 1998. After 30 years in the civil service, Handley has been a Visiting Research Associate at the LSE since 1994. When not writing about transport and European policies, he enjoys singing, opera, walking and gardening.
Andrew Penny
Andrew has been at HPC for three decades, but was kept young in spirit by long involvement with the older children. He was persuaded to become a reader over10 years ago and served a total of 6 years as churchwarden and too many on the PCC, He retired as a solicitor recently and is kept busy as chair of C4WS (shelters), Caris Camden (after-school clubs) and Churches Together in Hampstead. When not worrying about the next sermon, he dreams of live opera and walking and camping in France.
Churchwardens
Angela Gardner
Angela started attending Hampstead Parish Church after moving to the area in 1999. She soon got involved in many aspects of church community life including Hampstead Parochial School and the Hampstead Players. Her professional background is in accountancy and now works as a Diversity and Inclusion Manager for an international law firm. Angela lives in West Hampstead with husband David and their family.
Nicholas Walser
Nick grew up in a Derbyshire vicarage and has spent a large part of his life in and around churches. He moved to London after graduating from Cambridge in 1975 and since then has worked as a solicitor specialising in international shipping law. He and his wife Celia were married at Hampstead Parish Church in 1985 and his two daughters were baptised here. When they were young he was a regular helper with the Junior Church, and more recently he was our PCC Secretary for almost 10 years before becoming Churchwarden in 2025. He is a keen amateur choral singer and enjoys walking and running on Hampstead Heath.