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 is open to the public.

The house is located on a hill 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from Kalutara, adjacent to the Kalu Ganga River at Palatota, on a 42-acre (17-hectare) estate alongside the Kalutara-Palatota Road.

History of the Richmond Castle

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 was appointed Mudaliyar by the King after finishing his studies. He returned to Ceylon to take up the position.

The mansion was modelled after a castle in India owned by one of Srirwardena’s schoolmates, Raja Rajeswara Sethupathi, the Raja of Ramnad. Sriwardena had requested a copy of the building plans from Sethupathi but was refused due to the Ceylonese inability to undertake such a large construction project. This prompted Sriwardena to visit the Raja with two local architects who secretly drew castle plans.

Richmond Castle has sixteen rooms, 99 doors, and 34 windows on two floors. Floor tiles from Italy, teak from Burma (used to build the main staircase), window panes from Scotland decorated with glass depicting grapevines, and an iron stair and bathroom fittings from England were all sourced from abroad. When Srirwardena married Clarice Matilda Maude Suriyabandara in 1910, he moved into Richmond Castle. The wedding took place at Kalamulla’s St. Mary’s Church.

The couple had been married for 32 years but could not have children. Srirwenda left his estate to the Public Trustee, requesting that the castle be converted into a children’s home. Srirwardena died on July 8, 1947, and Richmond Castle has been in the care of the Public Trustee Department of Sri Lanka since 1956.