The Doric Bungalow (also known as The Doric) at Arippu East,

Mannar, Sri Lanka Mannar ( ta, மன்னார், translit=Maṉṉār, si, මන්නාරම, translit=Mannārama, formerly spelled Manar) is the main town of Mannar District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an Urban Council. The town is ...

, was the residence of the first

British Governor of Ceylon The governor of Ceylon was the representative in Ceylon of the British Crown from 1795 to 1948. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in Ceylon. The governor was the ...

History

The first governor,

Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, (7 February 1766 – 14 October 1827), styled The Honourable Frederick North until 1817, was a British politician and colonial administrator. Early life and education North was a younger son of Prime Mini ...

was the son of

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...

, Frederick North (2nd Earl of Guilford). The house was planned by the governor himself, the building was later known as 'The Doric' due to the architectural design of the columns which was similar to the Ancient Greek

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of c ...

style. It was built at the beginning of the nineteenth century (between 1801-1804) to revive and supervise the pearl fisheries. Other than being used as the residence for the governor, it was later used by "other governors, government agents, and other officials, including superintendents of pearl fishery." The two story building was constructed using bricks and mortar though the exterior walls were decorated with chunam which was made from the lime of burnt oyster shells and was described as appearing like 'marble'. A descriptive account of the bungalow can be found in the journal of Rev. James Cordiner (1775–1836), a chaplain attached to the British military garrison in Colombo, Ceylon between 1797 and 1804. Having been built on a low cliff near the beach, exposed to extreme weather and lack of maintenance, it is now mostly ruins. Restoration has been proposed several times but no work has been carried out despite it being declared a protected archaeological monument. A number of

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

tales surround the site and it has been 'locally ascribed to a legendary Queen of the ''

Sangam period The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...

'' which refers to Alli Raani who was said to have a palace at the site. There are also unsubstantiated claims that the Portuguese built the Doric and it was used to protect

Dona Catherina of Kandy Kusumāsana Devi (died 10 July 1613), also known as , was ruling Queen of Kandy in 1581. She was deposed, but queen consort of Kandy by marriage to Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy from 1594 to 1604. Life In her infancy she and her father Karaliy ...

circa 1580.

References

{{coord missing, Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Mannar District British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka Former official residences in Sri Lanka Houses in Mannar District