Have you ever wondered if you’re descended from royalty but never had the time to dive into your family history? Curious about your great-grandma’s wartime heroics but couldn’t spare the hours in the archives? While online platforms offer access to a wealth of historical records, the genealogy journey often feels daunting and time-consuming, deterring many history enthusiasts from embarking on it.
Enter YourTour™, a groundbreaking genealogical service designed to cater to those eager to unearth their history and heritage but lacking the time or expertise to navigate the archives themselves. Developed by Historic Productions Ltd, YourTour offers one-hour online conversations with expert historians and genealogist Guides. These Guides dive into archive materials and online databases in advance, uncovering the mysteries of a person’s family history and then revealing it during a unique live experience.
Renowned historian, author, and broadcaster Tom Holland, expressed his gratitude, stating, “What a service! Thank you so much for what was an absolutely eye-opening exploration of my forebears. I am hugely grateful to my Guide, to her research and expertise. Amazing to discover that the Hollands can be traced all the way back to 1664, and that a great-great-grandfather on my father’s side knew Tennyson and met with a Napoleon!”
The YourTour experience goes beyond presenting a list of names and dates; it’s akin to visiting a museum dedicated to your family’s history. Each guided session is engaging and entertaining, connecting people with their unique stories, culture, and traditions that have shaped who they are. It’s the perfect gift for anyone interested in their past, and since the sessions are conducted live on Zoom, the entire family can participate. After the live session, participants receive a detailed color report of their findings, complete with information, illustrations, and historical records, which they can keep, share with family, or use as a springboard for further exploration.
James Hooper, the founder of YourTour and Director of Historic Productions Ltd, explains, “Most of us love to hear about our ancestors and the lives they lived, and knowing where we come from can also be good for us. Uncovering these stories can be time-consuming and complex, often requiring extensive research, access to historical records and some genealogical expertise. YourTour solves that problem by providing a bespoke service: doing the work for you and giving you a comprehensive, hassle-free, and totally personalised one-to-one genealogy experience as a conversation. It is the perfect gift for anyone who loves exploring history in discussion with passionate and knowledgeable experts.”
YourTour isn’t just for newcomers to genealogy; even established historians have made unexpected discoveries through it. Lady Antonia Fraser, a historian, novelist, and biographer with over 30 historical books to her name, says, “I thoroughly enjoyed taking a YourTour, exploring a part of my own family history about which I knew surprisingly little. My Guide was charming and informative, filling our hour with interesting facts and actual archival records I’d never seen previously. I would highly recommend taking – or giving – YourTour to anyone with a passion for delving into history.”
Even individuals with well-documented ancestry, like financier and environmentalist Ben Goldsmith, found surprises in their family history through YourTour. He described it as “The tour with YourTour was one of the most illuminating, joyous things I’ve ever done. I knew next to nothing about my female ancestors on my mother’s side and learning about these remarkable women was just wonderful.”
Each YourTour session costs £162 and lasts for one hour. Participants provide some basic information about their parents in advance (such as names and dates of birth). To book a YourTour session for yourself or as a gift for others, or for more information, visit www.yourtour.live.
