The Sessions House, Maryport Street, Usk NP15 1AD
News
On
Saturday
24th
March,
Usk
Town
Council
hosted
a
Reception
at
the
Sessions
House,
to
celebrate
the
re-establishment,
after
65
years,
of
the
Trust
to
oversee
and
maintain
the
interesting,
mainly
Victorian,
law
library
housed
there.
It
comprises
almost
3000
volumes
of
law
reports,
statutes
and
commentaries
dating
from
1698
to
1971,
including
many
local
Acts
with
particular
interest
from
a
social
history
viewpoint.
The
original
trust
was
established
in
1886
by
Sir
Henry
Mather-Jackson,
later
Lord
Lieutenant
of
Monmouthshire,
in
memory
of
and
to
preserve
the
book
collection
of
his
father,
the
2nd
Baronet,
the trustees of the Mather-Jackson library
Member
of
Parliament
and
briefly
a
High
Court
Judge.
The
last
original
Trustee
died
in
1942
and
the
Trust
became
moribund.
The
town
council
was
keen
to
re-establish
the
Trust
and,
through
the
efforts
of
the
Honorary
Curator,
Tony
Fleming,
and
with
considerable
assistance
from
many
others,
this
has
been
achieved.
Seven
new
Trustees,
including
three
Members
of
the
Town
Council,
Lord
Raglan,
Sir
Roland
Jackson
(the
current
Baronet)
and
Doctor
Susan
Sloman,
(great-granddaughter
of
Sir
Henry).
Tony
Fleming
expressed
his
pleasure
that
this
more
active
management
of
the
collection
could
now
take
place.
'A
very
constructive
inaugural
meting
took
place
here
this
morning
which
has
also
heard
of
the
sterling
work
undertaken
by
volunteers
from
the
Monmouthshire
Decorative
and
Fine
Arts
Association
to
clean
and
undertake
minor
repairs
to
the
books.
It
will,
however,
still
be
necessary
to
undertake
more
fund
raising
to
enable
more
complex
re-bindings,
where
necessary,
to
be
commissioned.
At
last,
I
feel
the
library
is
in
good
hands
and
can
be
safeguarded
in
this
delightful
building
for
the
future,
as
Sir
Henry
intended',
he
said.
Access
to
the
Library
is
available
to
lawyers,
researchers
and
other
interested
parties,
by
appointment,
through
the
Town
Council.
Further
information,
if
required,
is
available
from:
Tony
Fleming
671199,
07989
316485
or
tony@jacfleming.freeserve.co.uk