Most visited Tourism Destinations places in Sri Lanka - Kalutara - Richmond Castle

 

                 Richmond Castle, Kalutara

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.The house sits on a hill 2 km (1.2 mi) from the Kalutara, adjoining the Kalu Ganga River at Palatota, on 42 acres (17 ha) estate beside the Kalutara-Palatota Road.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. Richmond Castle is a two- story building with sixteen rooms, 99 doors and 34 windows. 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.