Richmond Castle, which can be called the Taj Mahal of Sri Lanka, is located about 3 km inland from the center of South Kalutara city. Turn left from Kalutara Clock Tower, go to Palathota Junction, pass the Bhikshu Vivekarama which you meet while going along the Palathota-Kethena road, you can see a big name board with "Richmond Castle". From here, you have to walk about 500 meters again. It is in the middle of a fallen road in the middle of a coconut grove. Although many years have passed, the magnificence of Richmond Castle, which is built on top of a small hill on the border of the Kalu Ganga, has not diminished even today.
It was in the year 1910 that Richmond Castle was created. At that time, under the guidance of the Maha Mudali Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena Pandikara Mudali, who was in charge of the Kalutara Disa. He has developed a desire to build a mansion like this because he saw a grand mansion of a Maharaja when he went on a trip to India. Also, he wanted to surprise the family of the girl he was hoping to marry.
Many raw materials were brought from abroad to build this mansion. Only lime, sand and granite were used in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, this house was made of tiles, bricks, marble imported from Scotland, circular slabs and ceiling plates imported from England, and teak wood imported from Rangoon, Burma. Unique architectural features such as the windows made so that the natural coolness flows into the house, the lion's mouth with water flowing in the middle yard, etc. can be seen in this house.
Unfortunately, the love story of Arthur Mudali and his wife Claris Modi Matilda Suriyabandara did not end with happy tears. They were very sad because of the loss of their children. They couldn't get rid of the coin even from the pictures of the little children painted in the garden of Richmond Castle. It was during this time that Suriyabandara started an affair with one of his employees. Because of that, Mudali and she were estranged. Richmond Castle, which has an interesting history like that, is a must visit place on a trip to Madura and Kalutara.
Another Image of Richmond Castle
