Mark Ashcroft
British Archdeacon
Mark David Ashcroft (born 3 September 1954) is a British retired Anglican bishop. From 2016 until 2023, he was the Bishop of Bolton. He had previously been Archdeacon of Manchester from 2009 to 2016. Apart from ten years working in Kenya, he has spent all his ordained ministry in the Diocese of Manchester, Church of England.
Early life and education
Ashcroft was born on 3 September 1954 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. He was educated at Rugby School, then an all-boys public school in his home town. He studied at Worcester College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1977; as per tradition, this BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) in 1982. From 1978 to 1979, he worked as a restaurant manager in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In 1979, Ashcroft entered Ridley Hall, Cambridge, an Anglican theological college in the Open Evangelical tradition, to train for ordained ministry. For the first two years, he also studied theology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
The public source identifies “Mark Ashcroft” as british Archdeacon. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mark, Ashcroft and British.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Mark Ashcroft”, the useful work is to connect “british Archdeacon” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15072946. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1954, 2016, 2023 and 2009.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Mark Ashcroft”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Mark Ashcroft primary sources, Mark Ashcroft archive and Mark research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mark Ashcroft”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Mark Ashcroft” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.