Adisham Hall, or Adisham Bungalow is a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

near

Haputale Haputale ( si, හපුතලේ; ta, ஹபுதலே) is a town of Badulla District in the Uva Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The elevation is 1431 m (4695 ft) above the sea level. The area has a rich bio-diver ...

, in the

Badulla District Badulla District ( si, බදුල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''badūlla distrikkaya''; ta, பதுளை மாவட்டம் ''Patuḷai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Uva Province, Sri Lanka. The entire land area o ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. At present, it houses the Adisham monastery of

Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

. It has a relic (a chip of a bone) of

St. Sylvester Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death. He filled the see of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, yet very little is known of him. The acco ...

at the chapel. Sir Thomas Villiers was awarded from the Tangamale Strict Nature Reserve by an act of the British parliament. The house was built in 1931 by an English aristocrat and planter

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Thomas Villiers, former Chairman of George Steuart Co, a trading and estate agency based in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. Sir Thomas was a grandson of

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and ag ...

and descendant of the

Dukes of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV of England, ...

. Named after

Adisham Adisham (formerly Adesham) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Kent. It is twinned with Campagne-lès-Hesdin in France. Geography The village centre, six miles south-east of Canterbury is on the B2046 road between Wingham a ...

, it was designed by R. Booth and F. Webster in Tudor and Jacobean style. Adisham Hall played host to many prominent personalities of the colony until the retirement of Sir Thomas, after which it was purchased by Don Charles Wijewardene and his daughter Rukmini Wijewardene, owners of Sedawatte Estates, in 1950. While studying at LSE, London, Rukmini Wijewardene, in order to thank him for the sale, made a courtesy call on Sir Thomas Villiers who was, by then, living in Knightsbridge, London. Don Charles and Rukmini were the husband and daughter of Vimala Wijewardene. In 1961 Rukmini Beligammana (née Wijewardene) sold it to an Italian Benedictan monk. Upon purchasing the house and property the Italian monk removed silver cutlery and a few items of furniture in order to recover his investment and also make a profit. After leaving it unoccupied for two years he subsequently donated the house and property to the Ampitiya Benedictine Monastery in 1963. The house is well preserved along with its period fittings and furniture, and is open to visitors.

References

External links

Official Web Site for St. Benedict's Monastery, Adisham, Haputhale, Sri Lanka
Country houses in Sri Lanka Houses completed in 1931 Tourist attractions in Badulla District Houses in Badulla District Wijewardena family Buildings and structures in Bandarawela Manor houses in Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-struct-stub

See also

References

External links