Pradeep Jayewardene House is the

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 ...

of the

Jayewardene family The Jayewardene family is a Sri Lankan family that is prominent in law and politics. Along with many members who have been successful politician across generations, the family includes President and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka. Family Tree * T ...

. It is a pavilion-style

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

which can be booked as holiday accommodation. The original colonial

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

was built in the northern outskirts of

Mirissa Mirissa ( si, මිරිස්ස, translit=Mirissa; ta, மிரிஸ்ஸ, translit=Miris'sa) is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in the Matara District of the Southern Province. It is approximately south of Colombo ...

, on a steep

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

that forms the eastern coast of

Weligama Weligama ( si, වැලිගම, ta, வெலிகாமம்) is a town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The name ''Weligama'', literally means "sandy v ...

Bay. It was used by

J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...

and his family on their holidays. It was burnt down in 1987 during the early days of the JVP Insurrection, following the signing of the

Indo-Sri Lanka Accord The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling th ...

. In 1997 Jayewardene's grandson, Pradeep, commissioned architect and family friend,

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, FRIBA (23 July 1919 – 27 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoffrey Bawa was born in Colombo on 23 July 1919, the younges ...

, to rebuild the family holiday home. The main residence, a rectangular structure long and wide, is located on the crest of the hill which rises above the bay

References

{{reflist Jayewardene family Country houses in Sri Lanka Geoffrey Bawa buildings Buildings and structures in Matara District