There’s a little boat half hidden in grass by the junction of Church Road and Wellington Road in Portslade.

Local people called it a gassie for it was used a century ago to ferry people across Aldrington basin in Shoreham Harbour to the gasworks.

The other thing most Portslade people recall about gas was the awful smell it had when made from coal.

It was called the Portslade Pong as the prevailing wind carried the foul stench into thousands of homes.

In nearby West Hove the type of house built off Kingsway improved quite markedly near where the pong stopped, close to St Leonard’s Road.

The first Brighton gasworks were built at Black Rock almost two centuries ago. The fuel was so popular that a second site was soon opened at Church Road in Hove.

But the demand continued to grow and in 1871 the new gasworks was built in Shoreham Harbour. It was an extremely ugly building but it was effective.

The gasworks was rebuilt in the 1920s and was one of the main employers in Portslade. Soon it was joined by two electricity power stations next-door.

It was a target for German bombers during the Second World War and some damage was caused but the plant kept on producing gas.

Coal gas was run by private companies until the industry was nationalised in 1948. The south-eastern enterprise was popularly known as Segas.

Natural gas in the 1960s and 1970s meant the end of the old gasworks in Portslade and they were demolished in 1972. The new supply came from the North Sea which meant that a trench had to be dug under the Downs to reach Brighton.

There were protests about damage to the environment but it would be hard for most people to say now where this main has been buried.

When I first came to Brighton in 1967 there were still a number of houses which only had gas – not electricity.

It gave off a luminous white light which was rather pleasant but the lamps were hot and made a hissing noise.

My primary school in London was illuminated by gas (can you imagine that now?) and I can remember the gas man coming to light street lamps at dusk.

Both power stations at Portslade and Southwick were also demolished and replaced by a new one, this time fuelled by gas. Again a pipe had to be dug under the Downs.

The community was given more than a million pounds in compensation and the most obvious beneficiary was Hove Lagoon playground where a paddling pool was installed.

Segas disappeared during the privatisations of the 1980s and so did the depots at Church Road and Black Rock. When gas staff call at homes, they no longer have a local base or showrooms.

Gas, which seemed to be an old fashioned fuel when electricity became popular, has been a mainstay of Britain’s power for many years.

The Portslade Pong has been consigned to history books but gas is still vital to Brighton and Hove.