About Richmond Castle
The history of Richmond Castle is an intriguing saga of events running parallel to that of its owner, Mudaliyar Nanayakkara Rajawasala Appuhamilage Don Arthur De Silva Wijeysinghe Siriwardena, in the early decades of the 1900s. Young Siriwardena was born on November 12th 1889, to Paulis De Silva Siriwardena, who was a wealthy businessman hailing from Baddegama in the South. He owned vast estates of coconut, tea and rubber, which helped curry favour with the British administration enough to have young Siriwardena enrolled for schooling in Britain. After his education, he was bestowed the title of Mudaliyar by the King, and returned to his home country to take up rank.
On returning home to Ceylon, the Mudaliyar was inspired by the luxurious palace belonging to his schoolyard chum, the Maharaja of Ramnad in India. Falling in love with the palace, he requested a copy of the building plans but was refused, with the advice that Ceylonese were not capable of undertaking such a large and complex architectural project. This made the Mudaliyar even more determined, and building plans were drawn in secret. Richmond Castle was born, and became a two-storey mansion with sixteen rooms, 99 doors and 34 windows, designed in the style of Roman Dutch and Greek architecture. 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 grape vines) from Scotland, plus iron stairs and bathroom fittings from Britain.
The Mudaliyar moved into Richmond Castle with his new bride – a young beauty of noble rank – Clarice Matilda Maude Suriyabandara, in 1910. The marriage lasted 32 years, and even though the couple was blessed with every happiness and comfort in life, they lacked one of the greatest – that of a son or daughter. The couple heartbreakingly separated later in life, and the Mudaliyar bequeathed his properties to the Public Trustee, with the request that the castle was converted into a children's home so that the laughter of children may finally fill it. He regressed into becoming a hermit, and never returned to Richmond Castle again. After his death on 8th July 1947, Richmond Castle was taken care of by the Public Trustee Department of Sri Lanka, with part of the mansion becoming a home for underprivileged children.