THESE days, in homes right across Hampshire, nobody thinks twice about just flicking a switch to turn on lights, watch television, listen to music, keep food fresh in the freezer and cook the dinner, all by the power of electricity.

Little more than 125 years ago it was an extremely different story, but in 1888 a company was formed that would transform the way people lived, turning darkness into light.

The Southampton Electric Light and Power Company Limited was the first commercial organisation to generate electricity for public supplies locally by laying down "in the most approved and economical way an installation of 1,500 lights."

A central generating station was constructed in the old part of the city, in and around Back-of-the-Walls, signalling the start of a good business for the company.

In August 1891, the Light and Power Company announced: The consumers using the light supplied by the company are rapidly increasing, and at the last meeting of the Southampton Harbour Board, it was resolved to enter into an arrangement with the company for the purposes of lighting the new pier, and for the supply of electric current for working the cranes about to be erected on the Town Quay."

It did not take long before the company was the target of takeover offers from the corporation, but it would be another five years before the transfer was completed for the sum of £21,000.

With demand for electricity seemingly unstoppable, it was soon necessary to enlarge the Back-of-the-Walls site, but in February, 1902, despite the constant upgrading of generating equipment, it was first suggested that a new site should be sought on which to build a major new power station.

A number of areas around Southampton were inspected and dismissed in favour of almost four acres of mudland on the estuary of the River Test, at Western Shore.

It was considered ideal as it possessed ample room room for extension, was near the centre of electricity demand, had an abundant supply of sea water for condensing purposes, and facilities for rail and seaborne coal supplies.

Over the years the power station would become a familiar and rather ugly landmark, and many local people blamed to building for producing a plague of smuts and bits of ash, notorious for irritating the eyes of Sotonians.

Work began on reclaiming land, and in 1903 piling for the station's foundations and chimney shaft were under way, ready for the laying of the foundation stone in the July of that year.

Boilers and other equipment were removed from the Back-of-the-Walls and transferred and installed at Western Shore, almost opposite the present day Central Station in Southampton.

At the end of the First World War, the amount of electricity needed in Southampton resulted in the generating plant being extended.

The years between the two world wars saw the station's boiler house enlarge to four times its original size, while the turbine hall more than doubled.

As war with Hitler's Germany loomed, the importance of a constant supply became of great importance, resulting in a number of substations being built to bolster and maintain electricity.

At the height of the wartime air raids, bombs and parachute mines rained down on land around the station, but the building was only slightly damaged.

There was, however, extensive damaged caused to the transmission and distribution cables involving about 4,000 incidents throughout the conflict.

On Saturday, April 27, 1946 the 50th anniversary of the local authority's acquisition of the original electric company was marked by an official visit to Southampton by the then Minister of Fuel and Power, Emanuel Shinwell.

In the decade which followed, the power station, a dark, brooding blot on Southampton's landscape, played a vital role in the development of the city, but by the 1970s its days had come to an end as it was overtaken by the generating plants on the other side of Southampton Water.

By 1977, demolition workers had reduced the old station to scrap metal, the sale of which covered the cost of knocking down the building.

It was around this time that Southampton City Council hoped that the land would be used as the new home for Southampton Football Club, although this scheme never materialised. Instead the site was developed for retail use.