Discover Your Place In History
Ancestral Footsteps offer non-celebrities the sort of service Who Do You Think You Are? gives to its stars... a trip down your family’s memory lane
Research & Tours
Every family is unique, and so are our services
Ancestral Footsteps provides comprehensive personalised family history research and tours. We dig deep into your family’s past to place your ancestors in the social and historical context of the times. We help you understand where they lived, worked and loved to create a compelling narrative that may resonate with the way you live today or come as a complete surprise.
Our team worked on the BBC award-winning series of Who Do You Think You Are? giving us a real eye for spotting a great story, investigating it to the full and then bringing it to life. We also have an unrivalled international contacts book, as well as the experience and expertise to take on challenging projects.
We help you find your roots wherever in the world they are and have researched stories for clients across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Australasia and Asia. If you cannot find records online that doesn’t mean they do not exist. We have a trusted network of researchers on the ground who can visit local archives across the world.
We don’t just trace the names and dates on your family tree; our researchers follow your story to track down all the relevant documents that bring your ancestors to life. We then present our findings to you in a detailed research report or in a 50-page illustrated book. You then have the option to visit some of the places associated with your family in the company of one of our expert researchers.
Ancestral Footsteps will leave you with a deeper understanding of your family’s story, and a new emotional connection to the past as you discover your place in history.
How it works
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You choose your Ancestral Footsteps package of research or book
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You tell us what or who you want us to investigate and what you already know about your ancestry
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We consult as many sources as possible to find fascinating new material and place your family in the historical context of the times
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We present you with your research report or illustrated book and all your documents
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You then have the option of a personalised tour built around your research
Are you looking for a unique and once-in-a-lifetime gift for someone special?
An Ancestral Footsteps Research, Book, or Tour package is an original and thoughtful present for anyone curious about their past with a beautiful gift voucher for the recipient
Pricing
Research
Our research packages include in-depth genealogical and historical research into your chosen ancestor or family line, which we present to you in a detailed research report or beautifully designed book that will be an heirloom for future generations.
You start by choosing who or what you want to know about. It may be that you want to trace your family as far back in time as possible, you may have a mystery that we could solve or an intriguing legend about your family’s past. Alternatively, you may have a very specific request about the war career of just one ancestor or want to trace a missing relative. You may even need help verifying, archiving, curating and telling the story behind existing photos and documents.
All of our book packages include at least 60 hours of dedicated research plus editing, design and writing services. How our time is spent largely depends on the nature of our investigation – if your family is from the UK then you can expect a comprehensive selection of documents and revelations, if your family is from a far flung corner of say, Eastern Europe or Asia then more time may be spent on translations and sending a researcher to a remote archive.
Tours
We can also build a tour based on our findings accompanied by one of our in-house researchers who plans your itinerary, negotiates access to the places linked to your ancestors and tells you your story in situ with plenty of time to ask questions and discuss our findings. We can even reveal our findings on the tour itself by laying a trail of clues and documents that you follow throughout your trip.
Research
- £80 per hour for research in England, Scotland and Wales
- £100 per hour for the rest of the world, plus translation costs (if needed)
- Presented to you as a report in PDF form including excerpts from your ancestral documents and any images to add historical context.
Plus digital copies of all your documents - All commissions are based on a minimum 10-hour exploratory package
* pricing is a guide, depending on the complexity or location of your research and any travel expenses to physical archives to access records
Books
- Our findings compiled into a 50-page illustrated book to include:
- Your family history presented in an engaging and accessible form
- Excerpts from your ancestral documents
- Any photography, other images and maps that add historical context
- Digital copies of your book and all your documents
- Includes at least 60 hours of research, writing and editing
Price £5,900
Tours
- Take your Ancestral Footsteps research one step further with a fully-guided trip of a lifetime to discover the places your ancestors lived and worked, accompanied by one our in-house researchers
- Prices from £500 a day for your Ancestral Footsteps researcher and guide plus additional expenses, such as on the ground transport, to be agreed in advance. Quotes all depend on tour location and complexity
Our Story
Sue Hills, Ancestral Footsteps’ founder, is a veteran producer and director on the international hit BBC family history series, Who Do You Think You Are? While filming all over the world with celebrities such as Susan Sarandon, Barbara Windsor and Jerry Springer and helping to give them a fascinating insight into their past, Sue realised she could provide a similar experience for a wider audience. She developed the ‘Ancestral Footsteps’ concept of bespoke family history research packages and tours. Founded in 2008, and based in the UK, Ancestral Footsteps is proud to be the world’s first international ancestral tour company.
Sue’s dedicated team is largely made up of former TV researchers and producers. They have an eye for a story, tenacious research skills, and a wealth of experience and make excellent travelling companions. The Ancestral Footsteps team also boasts an unrivalled international contacts book, to help bring your family’s story to life wherever it leads us.
Sue combines running Ancestral Footsteps with her TV directing commitments. Recent assignments included Happy 100th Birthday Vera Lynn, Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family, Gary Lineker: My Grandad’s War and A House Through Time.
