A GLASS sculpture celebrating the Suffragettes was unveiled at the Houses of Parliament this week by the MP for Romsey.

Caroline Nokes, in her role as chairman of the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art at the Houses of Commons unveiled a huge installation which was partly made a Romsey firm.

Colin and Ian Musson helped artist Mary Branson create the work called New Dawn, which celebrates all the people who have campaigned for women’s votes.

The six-metre high work comprises 168 delicate hand-blown glass scrolls, a direct reference to the Act Room at the Parliamentary Archives.

The glass scrolls are mounted on a metal portcullis structure, which was created by the Mussons.

For two year Mary had been working on the sculpture which now hangs in Westminster Hall and was unveiled on Tuesday, 150 years since the Suffragette movement began.

Each glass scroll is lit from behind, with the lighting fluctuating in time with the tides of the River Thames over a half-day cycle with a rainbow of colour reflecting the organisations involved in the campaign.

Ms Nokes spoke to a crowd of hundreds on Tuesday when she unveiled the work.

She said: “Mary Branson’s New Dawn is a moving celebration of the vast numbers of ordinary women and men who worked and struggled for the vote, the bedrock of modern democracy.

“With its complex layers of symbolism, New Dawn conveys and celebrates the scale and power of a mass campaign, while being a perfect visual fit for the ancient site of Westminster Hall.”

Mary said: “After two years of work it’s a wonderful feeling to stand in Westminster Hall and see New Dawn lit up at last. She looks beautiful and seems to really belong in this remarkable space. I am truly honoured and humbled by all the support I have received from my team and the encouragement of so many people in this celebration of women’s votes.”