Richmond Castle is an Edwardian manor house just outside Kalutara 13 kilometers from Maggona Boutiuqe Cottages.
Built between 1900 and 1910, the castle was formally the country estate of Mudaliyar Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena. The estate covers 43 acres and is located two kilometers from Kalutara, bordering the Kalu Ganga River.
Richmond Castle
The mansion was built by Nanayakkara Rajawasala Appuhamilage Don Arthur De Silva Wijeysinghe Siriwardena. Arthur De Silva Wijeysinghe was the son of a wealthy and influential Sri Lankan planter. He was educated in Britain and after completing his studies he was given the title of Baron by the King.
Shortly thereafter, Baron Arthur Siriwardena returned to Sri Lanka to take up his post. Along the way, he visited India, where he was inspired by the palace of his old school friend, Raja Rajeswara Sethupathi, the Maharaja of Ramnad.
According to the story, he asked Sethupathi for the construction plans of the palace to build a house that looked similar. But the maharaja refused because he felt that a Ceylonese did not have the skills to take on such a large project. Hearing this, the baron went back to Ceylon, where he hired the services of two good local architects. He then visited his friend again, this time taking the architects with him. They looked at the castle and secretly copied the plan. The baron then had Richmond Castle built as a symbol of Sri Lanka’s splendor. Every inch of the structure flaunted the highest luxury of the time. All essential supplies for the building, such as floor and roof tiles, wood, stained glass, decorative items and bathroom accessories, were outsourced to various countries abroad. It became a castle that had never been built before in Sri Lanka.
Architecture Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle is a blend of European and Southeast Asian architectural styles designed by master architects. It includes four different architectural styles, a local Sri Lankan architectural style, Indian royal architecture, an Italian-Dutch architecture combined with a Greek design.
The mansion has two floors with 99 doors and 34 windows. The Venetian stained glass windows are beautifully designed and depict elegant vines. Documents found show that all wooden balustrades and other wooden structures were made of Burmese teak. The banquet hall, which also sometimes served as an arena for performances, was designed with an ingenious ventilation system that brought in the cool air flowing over the nearby Kalu Ganga River through the construction of underground corridors running right through the foundation of the mansion. This natural air conditioning kept the hall and its guests cool in the heat of Sri Lanka’s scorching tropical climate. The hall also displays 12 large Rangoon Teak pillars with impressive carvings similar to those in the Embekke Temple in Kandy. They support six huge decorated arches that serve as roof beams.
The wide staircase in the lobby is a typical English mansion, with checkered marble floors, with mixed Western and local patterns incorporated. The upstairs bedrooms were soundproofed using some wonderful techniques now visible thanks to the old lime-covered walls peeling off like crisp paper. The lime provided a comfortable temperature in the castle all year round.
The opening of the castle was on May 10, 1910.
Garden Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle had beautiful flower gardens and fruit orchards and often hosted sumptuous banquets for foreign and Sri Lankan dignitaries. It is said that Siriwardena also had a company of more than 50 performers for the entertainment of his guests, a large white carriage with horses and employed a small private army for protection. But despite the fairytale life blessed with every comfort in life, the noble couple lacked one of the greatest pleasures, a child of their own. It is said that marble statues of babies were made all over the park so that the couple could lovingly watch them from the balcony.
Baron Richmond Castle
Srirwardena moved to Richmond Castle when he married Clarice Matilda Maude Suriyabandara in 1910. The wedding took place at St. Mary’s Church Kalamulla. Arthur and his beautiful aristocratic wife, Clarice Matilda Maude Suriyabandara. The marriage broke down after 32 years and the baron was overcome with grief. He moved to the Queen’s Hotel in Kandy and died in 1947, but made provisions for his ex-wife’s care until the time of her death. He transferred Richmond Castle to the Public Trustee, with a request to convert the castle into a children’s home and with plans to establish a dedicated Trust that have not been implemented to this day.
The castle is open daily from 8 am till 4 pm. The entrance fee is 1000 LKR for foreigners.
