Richmond castle
Introduction

Srilanka is a best country to visit and explore because of the artistic diversity of the places around it. So, Srilanka became a very famous place among the foreign & local tourists. There are huge number of places that you have to visit in Srilanka. It includes plenty number of undiscovered & uncommon places around this country. This blog is also about a remarkable place that are not much popular among the visitors.

About Richmond Castel

Richmond Castel also known as the Edwardian mansion is located in Palathota main road that is 4KM away from the Kaluthara town. (coordinates : 6.6015°N 79.9753°E) This old mansion gives you a very beautiful and calm feeling because of the river Kalu located in northern boundary of the mansion. Richmond castle or Edwardian mansion is rendering the elegance of the Indian architecture in Srilanka. If you are interested in Indian architecture Richmond castle is a place surely you want to add to your wishlist. 


History of Richmond Castle

The castle was built by a local landowner as well as a mudaliyar named Padikara Mudali Nanayakkara Rajawasala Appuhamilage Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena, that have been built year between 1900-1910. Castle was built based on Indian architecture and used local manpower to complete the construction of the mansion. 


About Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena

Siriwardena is an educated person who studied his primary ages in Srilanka & moved to England for his higher educations. After completed his studies, he returned back to take the position of mudaliyar (position that are similar to the agent of British government/country seat) that was offered by the king of Britain. Siriwardena can be defined as a quixotic wealthy landowner and a good administrator among the people. He started to build the castle year around 1900 and finished the construction year around 1910. And he moved to the Richmond castle at the date of his marriage with Clarice Matilda Maude Suriyabandara. The couple spent 32 years together in the mansion however they were unable to have children to carryout siriwardenas’ legacy. 

Architecture of the Castle

As earlier mentioned, Richmond castle was entirely build based on the Indian architecture. The mansion was built based on a similar plan of a mansion in india which was owned by the Raja of Ramnad named Raja Rajeswara Sethupathi also school mate of a siriwardena. After he visited the rajas’ mansion he was impressed and wanted to build a same mansion for him in Srilanka. So he requested a copy of the mansion plan form sethupathi. But he refused the request & advised siriwardena that ceylon architect are not capable of undertaking a large project like it. Siriwardena was inspired by this and visit the mansion again with a local architect and secretly drew the plan of sethupathis’ mansion. So, he built the Richmond castle by only using local manpower. The castle was completed with a stable, servants’ quarters, guard rooms, dancing floor and all requirements for a luxury life. Among these facilities dancing floor getting a special place from others. According to the caretaker it has a natural air condition system that directly pump the air from the Kalu ganga through underground tunnels. It is a unique thing that can be differentiate from other mansion in those days. Entire castle has16 rooms, 99 doors, 34 windows and a two-way wooden staircase all made from Burma teak. These creations are quite unbelievable & those are some of remaining that speaks the past glory of Richmond castle. All essential supplies were from abort like, timber and bathroom fittings are said to have been brought from India and England, glass for windows and mirrors are from Italy and Scotland while some other building materials were from Nepal. As a whole Richmond castle can be considered as a most remarkable architectural works of the period.

Wooden staircase

Spiral staircase of the castle

Wooden architecture of Richmond castle

The Richmond Castle Today

Even though the couple lives a noble life they were unable to have their own child. So the marriage was broken and they were separated. This turned siriwardena’s life to a tragedy. After the separation he bequeathed all his wealth to trust for public, moved to hotel in kandy and lived alone till his death. Properties were taken care by the trust and later opened to the public. Public Trustee Department is currently own this mansion. They run an orphanage within the premises while leaving part of mansion open to the public. Some rooms of the mansion are now redeveloped and used as a study areas by young orphans. Also the master bedroom is now converted into a museum.

Why do you want to visit Richmond Castle?

As mentioned in earlier Richmond castle is a place that rendering the past pride of the Srilanka. Also it surrounded by beautiful nature like Kalu ganga. So this entire place gives you a vibes of very beautiful, peaceful, and calm feeling. Richmond castle is a place that lay out the elegance of the srilankan architecture and the artistic creations. Building structure, interior and wooden furniture of the castle will impress you definitely. Finally it’s most important to remember about the environmental pollution. Visitors have a responsibility to keep this historical & incredible place clean. It would be a great opportunity to save these ancient places to future generation.