Ehelepola Walauwa () was the ancestral home (or walauwa) of Ehelepola

Disawe The Mahâ Dissâvas was a Great Officer in the Amātya Mandalaya, or Sinhalese Council of State, in the Sinhalese Kingdoms of monarchical Sri Lanka. Like many of the existing high offices at the time it had combined legislative and judicial ...

and his family and is located in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. In Sinhalese, ''walauwa'' refers to a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

/ colonial

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

or ancestral residence of a native Ceylonese headmen. The walauwa were traditionally associated with the homes of the

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

s (''radala''), members of the royal court in

. It was displaced by their colonial equivalents following the dissolution of the

Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...

by the British. Ehelepola Nilame (1773 – 1829) was a courtier of the Kingdom of Kandy. He was the first

Adigar The Mahâ Adigâr () (also known as Adikārama, Adikār) was a Great Officer in the Amātya Mandalaya, or Sinhalese Council of State, in the Sinhala Kingdom, Sinhalese Kingdoms of monarchical Sri Lanka. The office was second in power and dignity ...

(a role which combined the powers of a

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and a chief justice) from 1811 to 1814 under the reign King

Sri Vikrama Rajasinha Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (Sinhala language, Sinhala:ශ්‍රී වික්‍රම රාජසිංහ, Tamil language, Tamil:ஸ்ரீ விக்கிரம ராஜசிங்கன் Telugu language, Telugu:శ్రీ వి� ...

. He was appointed by the king as the

(local

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

) of Sabaragamuva. In 1814 when the king believed he failed to suppress an uprising in Sabaragamuva he sent his forces to capture Ehelepola, who fled from

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

to the British-occupied port of

Kalutara Kalutara (, ) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south of the capital Colombo. The city holds a unique posit ...

. The king retaliated by brutally executing his wife, Kumarihamy and his four children, Loku Bandara, Madduma Bandara, Tikiri Manike and Dingiri Menike. Ehelepola then aided the British in launching an invasion of the

and was instrumental in the

Kandyan Convention In the history of Sri Lanka, the Kandyan Convention () was a treaty signed on 2 March 1815 between the British governor of Ceylon, Sir Robert Brownrigg, and the chiefs of the Kandyan Kingdom, British Ceylon, whereas, according to the Sinhala ...

that followed in March 1815, which led to the annexing of

as part of the British Empire. Ehelepola offered his Walauwa to the Maha Sangha. Following the

Uva Rebellion UVA most often refers to: * Ultraviolet A, a wavelength of light * University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Uva, UVA and UvA may also refer to: Arts and media * Uva, a fictional academy in the ''Pokémon Scarlet'' and '' ...

in 1818 the British imprisoned 53 chieftains, nobles and Buddhist prelates in the walauwa. Madugalle Nilame, Ellepola Nilame, Keppatipola Nilame and Kivulegedara Mohottirala were some of the inmates of this prison before they were executed by the British. Ehelapola Walauwa continued to be part of the Kandy prison complex until the country's independence in 1948. After independence, the walauwa continued to be part of Bogambara Prison. In 1998 it was designated as a 'Conserved Building' by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as part of the listing of Kandy as a World Heritage City. On 8 July 2005 it was formally included as an 'Archaeological Protected Monument' by the government. On 13 July 2013 the site was transferred from the Department of Prisons to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

for development as a Cultural and Urban Facility Centre. In June 2018 the walauwa was opened to the public for four days, along with Meda Wasala, Kandy Municipal Council building and Bogambara Prison, as part of a program to promote Kandy's heritage by the Urban Development Authority (UDA), in conjunction with the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

(JICA). The Bogambara Remand Prison site comprises three buildings, the former Ehelepola Walawwa and two two-storey cell block buildings. In 2018 the JICA identified that the cell block buildings had been rehabilitated but not properly conserved, with most of the historic materials removed, and replaced with new materials. The walawwa still retained its central courtyard and was not yet renovated but did have a temporary shed structure over the roof to prevent water damage. At the time the UDA were considering converting the building into a restaurant and craft store.

See also

References

Works cited

Further reading