College House is the administrative center of the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

, situated in the

Cinnamon Gardens Cinnamon Gardens ( si, කුරුඳු වත්ත ''Kurundu Vaththa'', ta, கறுவாத் தோட்டம்) is an affluent neighbourhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located 3 kilometers south-east from Colombo's centre. Cinnamon Gard ...

suburb of

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 ...

, it is a national heritage site. Regina Walauwe: A College House of 100 Years
Serendib magazine, Srilankan Airlines Web (Heritage) Retrieved 05 December 2014 With construction completed in 1912, the house was built by Thomas Henry Arthur de Soysa, who was a prominent businessmen and the Consul for Chile. He was also the son of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa and named the house ''Regina Walauwa'', after his wife Regina Perera. Arthur de Soysa sold the house to the Government of Ceylon in 1920 to establish the

University College Colombo Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

the following year. With the name of the house changed to ''College House'' on the instructions of

Sir Edward Denham Sir Edward Brandis Denham (1876 – 2 Jun 1938) was a British colonial administrator. He served as Governor of the Gambia (1928–1930), Governor of British Guiana, British Guiana (1930–1935) and Governor of Jamaica, Jamaica (1935–1938). ...

.The day the Queen came to Queen’s Road
recalls Stephen Prins

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

Plus. Retrieved 10 December 2014 The Library of the University College began in a room of the house with a collection of books belonging to A. Padmanabha, gifted by his father

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 ...

Ponnambalam Arunachalam Ponnambalam Arunachalam ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் அருணாசலம், translit=Poṉṉampalam Aruṇācalam; 14 September 1853 – 9 January 1924) was a Ceylonese civil servant and a member of the Executive Council of Ceyl ...

. Following the formation of the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

it became it administrative center and housed the office of the

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

.India House, Colombo: Portrait of a Residence, Seventy Five Years of History and Home Life
Laki, Dominic Sansoni, Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne (Vishva Lekha Publishers) pp.3-5 On March 8, 1989, elements of the

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anot ...

assassinated the Vice Chancellor, Prof Stanley Wijesundera at the Library Room in the College House. A new building was constructed on the ground as part of the expansion of the university administration in the 1980s and to house the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

References

External links

History of the University of Colombo
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Lakshmigiri Saifee Villa (previously known as Lakshmigiri) is a mansion at 102, Thurstan Road in Colombo 03, Sri Lanka, located between Thunmulla Junction and College House, Colombo. History and Alfred Joseph Richard de Soysa Lakshmigiri (built in 1910) ...

{{University of Colombo Ceylon University College Houses in Colombo University of Ceylon University of Colombo Manor houses in Sri Lanka De Soysa family

See also

References

External links