Vellore Archives

Cenotaph – capture of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe – By Arundathie Abeysinghe After the fall of the *Kandyan Kingdom in 1815 to British Colonial rule, *Adigar Ehelepola, considered as one of the main conspirators who assisted British Colonials to take over the Kingdom sent a group of his people to assist the British to capture *King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha who had escaped from the Royal Palace. Yet, the team was unable to capture the King and his Queen. Several days later, the team got information that the King and his Queen Venkatha Rangammal were hiding in Bomure, a hamlet in Medamahanuwara. “Medamahanuwara” also spelt “Meda Mahanuwara” or “Meda Maha Nuwara” (“Mahanuwara” meaning “big city” in Sinhala and “Meda Mahanuwara” meaning Middle Kandy, probably, due to it being a suburb of Kandy) situated approximately 36 kilometers from Kandy in *Mahiyangana Road (A26) between Wegala (a hamlet in Central Province) and ...

Prison cell of King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha in Colombo Fort: fact or fiction? By Arundathie Abeysinghe The prison cell of King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha (1798-1815), the last King of the *Kandyan Kingdom as well as the last monarch of Sri Lanka located in Colombo Fort is a well-known monument. Although, the majority of people working in Colombo Fort area are not aware of it (situated in the busy metropolis in close proximity to *Dutch Hospital in Colombo Fort), it is a popular destination of tourists. Situated in Janadhipathi Mawatha in Colombo Fort (Queen’s Street) at the turn off to Bank of Ceylon Mawatha within the premises of the Ceylinco House building, this small structure is engulfed in controversy, although there are paintings of King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha and his Queen Consort. The monument is in the shape of a half capsule with the curved half facing north with a small ...