The Hook Book

The Community Brain, a local based not for profit, has been working with a number of partners to understand, explore and celebrate the area of Hook in the Royal Borough of Kingston. Using stories from the past, such as the astonishing night club the Ace of Spades, The Community Brain has engaged with a number of different courses at Kingston University to 'play' with the area and its stories and to use these to imagine a different future. Courses involved include Illustration Animation, Creative Writing, MA Architecture.

The book is an opportunity to celebrate how creative thinking can reinterpret stories, places and opportunities and that future planning should use 'play' and imaginative approaches to engage with local communities about their spaces and places.

When thinking of the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, many people don't immediately think of Hook. A town along the A3, dominated by the Hook Roundabout, Hook was once a bustling area full of nightlife and frivolity. The Ace of Spades nightclub used to be the center of this entertainment, hosting the who's who of the Royal Borough and promising a night of recreation and amusement.   

But today, there seems to be no evidence that Hook once played host to flashing lights and private jets. The town is quiet and the nightclub is no more. Cars circle the roundabout, ignorant of the history they are passing daily. How did this once extravagant location become what it is today? And what can be done to reinvigorate it?  

A product of local exploration and community interaction, The Hook Book brings together the work of Kingston University students created in search of the answers to these questions and others like them.