Richmond Castle is an Edwardianmansion, located near Kalutara. Built between 1900 and 1910, it was formally the country seat of Mudaliyar Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena. The building is currently owned by the Public Trustee and open to the public.[1][2]
The house sits on a hill 2 km (1.2 mi) from the Kalutara, adjoining the Kalu Ganga River at Palatota,[3] on a 42 acres (17 ha) estate beside the Kalutara-Palatota Road.
Mudaliyar Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena photographed 22 December 1919
The building was constructed by a local landowner and philanthropist, Padikara Mudali Nanayakkara Rajawasala Appuhamilage Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena (12 November 1889 – 8 July 1947). Srirwardena studied in Britain and on completion of his studies he was bestowed the position of Mudaliyar by the King, returning to Ceylon to take up the position.
The mansion was built based on a similar plan of a castle in India, which was owned by Srirwardena's schoolmates, Raja Rajeswara Sethupathi, the Raja of Ramnad. Sriwardena had requested a copy of the building plans from the Sethupathi, but was refused with the advice the Ceylonese were not capable of undertaking such a large construction project. This inspired Sriwardena to visit the Raja with two local architects, who secretly drew plans of the castle.[1][4]
Richmond Castle is a two-storey building with sixteen rooms, 99 doors and 34 windows.[4] All essential supplies for the building were sourced from abroad, including floor tiles from Italy, teak from Burma (used to construct the main staircase), window panes, decorated with glass depicting grapevines, from Scotland, and an iron stair and bathroom fittings from England. Srirwardena moved into Richmond Castle upon his marriage to Clarice Matilda Maude Suriyabandara in 1910.[1] The marriage took place in St. Mary's Church, Kalamulla.
The couple spent 32 years together however they were unable to have children. Srirwenda bequeathed his properties to the Public Trustee, with the request that the castle was converted to a children's home. Srirwardena died on 8 July 1947[1] and from 1956 the Richmond Castle has been taken care by the Public Trustee Department of Sri Lanka.
richmond, castle, kalutara, richmond, castle, edwardian, mansion, located, near, kalutara, built, between, 1900, 1910, formally, country, seat, mudaliyar, arthur, silva, wijesinghe, siriwardena, building, currently, owned, public, trustee, open, public, richmo. Richmond Castle is an Edwardian mansion located near Kalutara Built between 1900 and 1910 it was formally the country seat of Mudaliyar Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena The building is currently owned by the Public Trustee and open to the public 1 2 Richmond CastleAlternative namesRichmond MandirayaGeneral informationTown or cityKalutaraCountrySri LankaCoordinates6 36 05 N 79 58 31 E 6 6015 N 79 9753 E 6 6015 79 9753Completed1910OwnerPublic Trustee of Sri Lanka The house sits on a hill 2 km 1 2 mi from the Kalutara adjoining the Kalu Ganga River at Palatota 3 on a 42 acres 17 ha estate beside the Kalutara Palatota Road Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp Mudaliyar Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena photographed 22 December 1919 The building was constructed by a local landowner and philanthropist Padikara Mudali Nanayakkara Rajawasala Appuhamilage Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena 12 November 1889 8 July 1947 Srirwardena studied in Britain and on completion of his studies he was bestowed the position of Mudaliyar by the King returning to Ceylon to take up the position The mansion was built based on a similar plan of a castle in India which was owned by Srirwardena s schoolmates Raja Rajeswara Sethupathi the Raja of Ramnad Sriwardena had requested a copy of the building plans from the Sethupathi but was refused with the advice the Ceylonese were not capable of undertaking such a large construction project This inspired Sriwardena to visit the Raja with two local architects who secretly drew plans of the castle 1 4 Richmond Castle is a two storey building with sixteen rooms 99 doors and 34 windows 4 All essential supplies for the building were sourced from abroad including floor tiles from Italy teak from Burma used to construct the main staircase window panes decorated with glass depicting grapevines from Scotland and an iron stair and bathroom fittings from England Srirwardena moved into Richmond Castle upon his marriage to Clarice Matilda Maude Suriyabandara in 1910 1 The marriage took place in St Mary s Church Kalamulla The couple spent 32 years together however they were unable to have children Srirwenda bequeathed his properties to the Public Trustee with the request that the castle was converted to a children s home Srirwardena died on 8 July 1947 1 and from 1956 the Richmond Castle has been taken care by the Public Trustee Department of Sri Lanka See also editSrawasthi MandirayaReferences edit a b c d Kuruwita Rathindra 11 May 2008 The tragedy of Richmond Castle PDF The Nation Retrieved 9 January 2018 Richmond Castle A Tale Of Grandeur And Romance Richmond Castle travel tips a b Silva Dhananjani 28 December 2014 Famed garden castle and taste of lobsters head to Kalutara Sunday Times Retrieved 9 January 2018 External links editDepartment of Public Trustee nbsp This article about a building or structure in Sri Lanka is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Richmond Castle Kalutara amp oldid 1048459770, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
