Meet Shane - our guide in Rochester

Shane has been a history buff since he was nine, making him the perfect guide for Rochester (more on that soon!).

After years in Advertising, Marketing, and Printing, much of it connected with the Events Industry, by 2014 he was looking for a fresh challenge. By coincidence, that same year he led a group of friends on a guided tour of Rochester. Though he’d experienced many tours before, being the guide was something entirely different—but his friends loved it and encouraged him to keep going.

By 2016, he had perfected his storytelling style—witty and engaging—and developed four tours. Two years later, he took over and revamped a long-running ghost tour, turning it into The Original Rochester Spooky Tour. Packed with ghost stories, grisly executions, and an unsolved murder, it has since welcomed around 6,000 brave guests and become one of Kent’s top tours.

After nine years as Rochester History Guided Tours, Shane is now expanding under the TourChester banner, bringing in other passionate local guides.

But what makes Shane truly unique? Just like Rochester, his deep-rooted Dickens connection.

In 1860, a newspaper birth announcement caught Charles Dickens’ eye as he searched for names for his latest novel. The name belonged to Shane’s grandfather, William Henry Jaggers. So his family legend says, Dickens used it for Great Expectations’ iconic lawyer, Mr. Jaggers.

Shane’s family passed down this story, giving him a rare link to England’s greatest novelist. Join him for a Dickens tour, and you'll hear Rochester’s history from someone with a truly special connection!