FAMILY history enthusiast Paul Kettlewell has turned his interest in unearthing the past into a business.

Paul, 52, has been tracing his family history and researching the Kettlewell name for about eight years.

He has now set up a small business, Your Ancestors Ltd, doing family history research for individuals or companies.

Paul, from Boothfields, Knutsford, worked for Wincanton Logistics for 17 years as a planning manager in warehousing.

He became interested in family history through helping his father research information about his grandparents.

“My interest was triggered when my grandparents got to quite an age, and we thought we really should try and find out what they knew about the family,” he said.

His interest has grown from there, and has resulted in the discovery of a possible link to his family with a man from the 15th century.

“John Kettlewell was born in 1420 and lived just outside Pateley Bridge in Yorkshire,” said Paul.

“He is in the records of the Fountains Abbey monks, and we are fairly sure our family links directly back to him.”

Paul is also seeking to confirm the identity of a man on a portrait in storage in Leeds Art Gallery.

Paul believes the man is his great great grandfather William Kettlewell, who was a town councillor in Leeds in the mid 1800s.

“The picture was in the old Leeds Town Hall, and unfortunately it was removed from its frame,” said Paul.

“However I believe it is of my great great grandfather because he is the spitting image of his son.

“I love trying to put names to old pictures, and during my research into William Kettlewell I went through all the pictures in public ownership in Leeds.

Paul has just launched his website, www.your-ancestors.co.uk, and is studying with the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies.

“Family research can be a wonderfully rewarding hobby, and the history you discover today can be passed down through the generations,” he said.

“Every family has a hidden trove of documentation that can provide clues to its history, and I can help people unravel the past.”