The Vanishings of Brompton Town

The Vanishings of Brompton Town is a work of speculative folklore developed as a creative commission for Ideas Test (NPO) to support placemaking in Brompton, Kent. The project focused on pride in place, co-creation and cultural identity, exploring how local narratives shape collective memory and belonging.

The story was written through a combination of heritage research and community engagement. I spent time in the local greasy spoon café; a central social space in Brompton, attending sessions with residents, gathering stories and listening to the rhythms, histories and humour embedded in the area. These conversations, alongside independent research into Brompton’s heritage, formed the narrative architecture of the book. Local people I met in the café appear as characters, and the café itself becomes a key gathering point within the work.

Following the publication of the book, the story became the source material for an immersive Halloween trail that brought the characters to life and placed them around the town, in closed-down pubs, cafés and other local sites, transforming everyday spaces into speculative touchpoints. This adaptation foregrounded sound, narrative and place-based imagination, extending the work from page into public space.

The Vanishings of Brompton Town positions sound and storytelling as tools for placemaking and cultural ecology. Writing and composition were conceived together rather than sequentially, allowing for sonic and spatial futures to be built into the world from the outset.

The book is now published and can be accessed at Chatham Library.

Commissioner: Ideas Test (NPO)

Context: Creative People and Places (CPP)

Approach: Co-creation, pride in place, community engagement

Location: Brompton, Medway (UK)

Outputs: Publication & Immersive Trail (Adaptation)

Role: Writer, Researcher, Community Engagement

Themes: Placemaking, heritage, cultural ecology, worldbuilding, sound

Access: Available at Chatham Library

Year: 2025