The building was commissioned to accommodate the
quarter sessions for
Monmouthshire which had previously been held on the first floor of the
Old Town Hall in Old Market Street. The court was designed by
Thomas Henry Wyatt in the
Italianate style, built in mauve
sandstone with dressings of
Bath stone, The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto Maryport Street, with the end bays projected forward. The central section of three bays featured a
loggia, formed by three round-headed arches with
architraves and
keystones, flanked by
sash windows with triangular pediments, while the outer bays were fenestrated large round-headed windows. The bays were separated by
Tuscan order pilasters and surmounted by a
cornice and
parapet which was broken by a
balustrade above the loggia. Internally the principal rooms were the two courtrooms. The Sessions House was also the location for the trial of
Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda, Court Number 1 was badly damaged in a fire in 1944 but Court Number 2 survived with little changed. The quarter sessions moved to
Newport in 1950 and Court Number 1 was demolished in 1970. Following an extensive programme of refurbishment works costing £200,000, the building was re-opened by the
High Sheriff of Gwent, Lady Hayman-Joyce, in May 2011. It is now used for meetings of the town council and for community use. ==Notes==