The Hill Club was a

gentlemen's club A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally established by males from Britain's upper classes starting in the 17th century. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the ...

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

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, ...

. Established 1876 by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

coffee planters in the

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

of Nuwara Eliya.

History

The Hill Club was founded in 1876 by W. H. Walker, J. Wickwar and H. Saunders and started with only a billiard room and a bar. The Hill Club was established by the early Coffee,

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

and

Tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

planters and it was natural that most of the members were foreign planters. The first president was Edward Rosling, elected in 1899. The current building dates from the 1930s, when it was built by the British, Colombo-based firm of Edwards, Reid and Begg. The Club did not allow membership to women or locals until 1967.

Tennis

The Hill Club was the first venue for the Ceylon Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) (now known as the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA)), which was established in 1915 under President (Sir)

Robert Chalmers Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers, (18 August 1858 – 17 November 1938) was a British civil servant, and a Pali and Buddhist scholar. In later life, he served as the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Background and education Chalmers was ...

, the then

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of captain-majors of Portugue ...

. The CLTA purchasing the courts and clubrooms from the Hill Club in 1928. The venue continued to be used as the headquarters of the CLTA until 1954 when the Association shifted to its present location in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

. The site was subsequently sold back to the Hill Club in 1973. The clay courts at the Hill Club were also the venue for the majority of the

Ceylon Championships The Ceylon Championships (1884-1972) later known as the Sri Lankan Championships (1972–76) was a men's and women's national tennis tournament held at the Hill Club LTC, Nuwara Eliya British Ceylon now Sri Lanka from 1884 through 1976. History ...

between 1884 and 1971. During this time the Nationals were almost always held in April, to coincide with the holiday festive season in Nuwara Eliya, which featured horse racing, hill climbs, car and motorcycle races and flower exhibitions. The Hill Club now holds a ‘B’ Grade open ranking tournament sanctioned by the SLTA.

Features

The Hill Club is situated on a property, on Grand Hotel Road. The Hill Club is located adjoining the

Nuwara Eliya Golf Club The Nuwara Eliya Golf Club is one of the oldest Golf Clubs in Sri Lanka. Established in the late 19th century, it is located in the hill station of Nuwara Eliya. It is an 18-hole golf course. History The Nuwara Eliya golf course was constructe ...

on one side and the country home of Sri Lanka’s President on the other. The English colonial architectural features of the two-storey grey stone building, include wooden staircases, high roofs, hardwood floors, fireplaces and antique furniture. It has 44 rooms including three suites, together with three family chalets. It also has a dining room, two bars, (the 'Casual Bar' and the 'Mixed Bar'), a reading room, ladies' lounge, a games room (the 'Monsoon' room), four International standard tennis courts. It currently has a membership of approximately 950, consisting of both foreign nationals and Sri Lankans.

References

External links

* *
Hill Club website
{{Hotels in Sri Lanka 1876 establishments in Ceylon Gentlemen's clubs in Sri Lanka Organizations established in 1876 Buildings and structures in Nuwara Eliya Hotels in Nuwara Eliya Tennis venues in Sri Lanka

History

Tennis

Features

See also

References

External links