The Sessions House at Usk,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, is a Victorian courthouse by

Thomas Henry Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870–73 and being awarded its Royal Gold Medal for ...

of 1877.''The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire'', p. 593 It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

as of 4 January 1974. The court is of mauve

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

with dressings of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

stone. It is of five bays, with a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

and

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

d terrace. Court Number 2 "survives little altered." "There is an impressive judge’s chair and the benches retain their original labels for Counsel, Solicitors, Reporters, Jury etc." A passage under the dock leads through to

Usk Prison HM Prison Usk (Welsh: ) is a Category C men's prison, located in Maryport Street in Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and jointly managed with the nearby HMP Prescoed. History Usk Prison was bu ...

which stands next door. The Sessions House was the location for the trial of Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda, a prominent

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to member ...

, in 1913. The case of Josef Garcia, a Spanish seaman, was also reputedly heard there; he was eventually tried and convicted of the murder of William and Elizabeth Watkins of Llangybi and of their three youngest children Charlotte, Alice and Frederick at the Gloucestershire Assizes in 1878. The building was purchased by Usk Town Council to mark the millennium, and it is now used for meetings of the town council and for community use.

Notes

External links

Information from the local council

Bibliography

*John Newman, ''The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire'', p. 593 {{ISBN, 0-14-071053-1 History of Monmouthshire Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Buildings and structures in Monmouthshire Thomas Henry Wyatt buildings Usk Usk Court buildings in Wales