BENINGBROUGH Hall has had a long and successful partnership with the National Portrait Gallery which has given local people the chance to see some of the world’s great portrait paintings right here on our doorstep.

But the National Trust property can seldom have caught the public mood in quite the way it has with its latest National Portrait Gallery collaboration.

The ‘Making her mark’ exhibition which opens on March 3 will celebrate the contribution of British women to writing, art, music and dance. Among the stars whose portraits will be on show for eight months are Dame Judi Dench, Dame Darcey Bussell, JK Rowling and Amy Winehouse.

These are women who have made a huge mark on the world. As the campaign for women's equality gathers pace, it is surely the perfect time to be celebrating them and women like them.