The Genesis of Richmond, Galle still shrouded in a controversy? – BY RANJAN DIAS JAYASINH
The book published by the late Ananda Dias Jayasingha in 2014 raised a hornet’s nest, as it inadvertently created two factions among the Richmond fraternity, one faction believing the origins of the school as 1814 and the other insisting it to be 1876. The two factions are pulling in different directions, even dragging the Methodist Church into a bitter dispute. In this sense, the writer would attempt to derive the plausible facts behind these two schools of thought about the genesis of Richmond College. The writer studied the book written by the late Ananda Dias Jayasingha (ADJ) and the book titled Galle as Quiet as Asleep, published by Miss. Norah Roberts (NR) in 1993, after a meticulous research about the history of Galle, spanning 10 long years. Norah Roberts was the librarian of Galle Public Library for 40 years and had the luxury of access to the historical chronicles in her endeavor. Nevertheless, the late ADJ’s book came into being 21 years after NR’s book. However, both books draw parallels that are of interest to burrow into the flamboyant history of the institution. NR dedicated 15 pages (Pages 168- 182) to write a concise Richmond College history. The writer especially opted to obtain references from these two signature works as both the books had been compiled after a thorough research. Interestingly, ADJ’s publication didn’t have any reference to NR’s work. Therefore, it can be assumed that these two literary works were independent in their distinctive sense.
In her book, she states that the history of Richmond College is in a special way connected with the five pioneer Wesleyan missionaries who landed in Galle on 20th June 1814. Similarly, the late ADJ discovered a distinct part of an article that was published in the college’s diamond jubilee souvenir. The words of the two books were almost verbatim except for the date of arrival of the missionaries. In the souvenir, it was mentioned as 29th June 1814. However, it can be surmised that the Wesleyan missionaries arrived in June 1814 in Galle and Weligama. The records maintained by the Methodist Church confirm that these missionaries, led by Rev. Benjamin Clough, opened the first Wesleyan school in all of Asia on 25th July 1814, which came to be known as Galle School. Thereafter, the mission went on to open a cluster of schools in and around Galle to cater to a cross section of the Galle-based children. This original school, too, had to move into various places, even in Galle fort, for lack of space. In retrospect, ADJ. described vividly how the cluster schools surfaced and moved from one location to another in his book. Meanwhile, the second-generation missionary Rev. Joseph Rippon arrived in Galle in 1850. Rev. Rippon’s arrival marked a resurgence of the mission. He immediately sprang into action, thereby establishing a Wesleyan local society in 1854. According to Norah Robert’s recounts, the objective of the society was to build schools, erect chapels, and maintain Catechists. There is no doubt that whatever the missionaries of different sects who arrived in Ceylon, their common objective would have been to promulgate the religion through education.
In Norah Robert’s book, she chronicled that the farsighted Rev. Rippon persuaded the Methodist Mission to purchase a 17-acre land called Seymour Hill in Kumbalwella, Galle, for a mere Rs. 937.50 in 1857. Later, the land extent expanded up to 26 acres. Rev. Rippon was also instrumental in securing government grants intermittently during this period. Significantly, NR noted in her book that Rev. Rippon was able to establish an Anglo-Vernacular (AV) school on the hill in 1864 with Mr. C.E. Wickramanayake as Head Master and a training school for teachers, which continued its existence until 1917. Rippon Girls School was established in 1871. Given the geography and demographics of the area back in the mid-nineteenth century, it was unthinkable that a girls’ boarding school was set up on the top of the hill without security. Obviously, the security that prevailed was the boys’ school on the premises surrounding the girls’ school.
NR stated that Rev. Rippon was determined to establish a collegiate school for the southern province as the exodus of children to Colombo-based schools from this school was commonplace during that period. At this juncture, Colombo was gaining momentum as the main commercial city in old Ceylon. The Wesleyan Mission originally planned to establish Wesley College in Galle but later moved it to Colombo in 1874 for obvious reasons. However, NR described that Seymour Hill or future Richmond Hill became an important and quintessential Methodist Centre in old Ceylon.
Rev. W.J.T. Small was the last Principal from the Methodist Missionaries ..!
According to NR, Rev. George Baugh, who succeeded Rev. Rippon in 1964, was considered the founder of Richmond. She further stated that Rev. Baugh was determined to establish a superior boys’ school on the Hill. He seemed to have been worried about the fact that the Wesleyans were losing their brightest students to the high schools of other denominations elsewhere. NR further quoted Rev. Baugh as saying ‘I would rather give up my beloved missionary work in Galle than to witness this state of affairs. Accordingly, in the 1870s, Rev. Samuel Langdon was specially brought in to make this mission of transforming the school into a high school a reality. With his untiring efforts and unabated perseverance, Galle High School was established on 01st May 1876. This is a high school or collegiate school of superior caliber. The writer believes that the present Richmond community should understand the status quo at the time of the establishment of the high school. Galle, as the southern province, was not endowed with a high school to retain bright students from affluent families. Therefore, the establishment of the high school would have been advertised as a new school to boost the attraction of the public. This was the point of argument as far as those who supported the 1876 origin. But, they couldn’t assimilate or visualize the prevalent conditions of the country at that juncture. It was a culture shock, so many people conveniently ignored the ‘would be conditions’ at that time. Most interestingly, NR noted in her book how the missionaries adopted the name of Richmond. Rev. Baugh, Rippon, and many other missionaries who landed in Galle belonged to the alumni of Methodist Theological Training College, Richmond Hill, Surrey, England. Hence, it became Richmond College after all. Therefore, the influence of those missionaries was unequivocal as to why the college was named after Richmond.
As disputed by the supporters of the 1876 faction, Rev. W.J.T. Small was living when Richmond High School celebrated its centenary in 1976. He was a third-generation missionary cum educationist who served in Ceylon and Sri Lanka until he died tragically on 28th November 1979. If someone studies closely, it would surface that Ven. W.J.T Small’s origins were different. He didn’t hail from Surrey, England. However, Rev. Small mentioned in an article published in the school journal in 1926 that ‘As already mentioned, the gem of the college was Joseph Rippon’s AV school which stood on the site afterwards used as a Tennis Court and now occupied by a line of four fine classrooms. Mr. C.E. Wickramanayake, known to all generations of Richmondites, was a teacher at this school and remained on the staff of the high school that grew out of it. This itself suggests an amalgamation. On the other hand, how could a newly established high school hold a prize-giving in 1876? No one can expect a new school to have a prize giving overnight. It is also on record that two students were selected to the Medical College from the school in 1877. It was a miracle to have this rare feat within a year of its establishment. Furthermore, the British High Commission in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Education, and the Methodist Church have accepted the fact that the college had beginnings since 1814 and Richmond was engrossed into the history as the oldest school in Sri Lanka, and even dedicated a section in the grade -9 history text book. These esteemed state and non-state organizations would have never endorsed this historical norm unless they had enough historical evidence. Therefore, all Richmondites should look at this phenomenon with an open mind and come to a consensus
of its history. These two historical chronicles have proved beyond doubt that Richmond has been connected with the first Wesleyan missionaries who came to old Ceylon. Therefore, it is appropriate to correct the history, encompassing the forgotten past of 62 years. Meanwhile, for those who support the 1876 origin, it is also fair enough to let them celebrate the event annually as it marks the elevation of the original school to a high school. The writer firmly believes that there should not be any conflicts or obstructions to rejoicing the two origins between two factions. So, let’s celebrate the 149th birthday of Richmond High School on the 01st of May, 2025, and rejoice in the 211 years of Richmond’s origin on 25th July 2025 peacefully.
Lasitha Mendis (Former Squadron Leader- SLAF)
Richmond 83
