General's House, Colombo
| General's House | |
|---|---|
| Former names | Captain's House |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Colombo Bauddhaloka Mawatha. ( Bullers Road) |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Client | Sri Lanka Army |
The General's House is the official residence of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Brigadier James Roderick Sinclair, the Earl of Caithness, was appointed the first Commander of the Ceylon Army in 1949 and played a major role in establishing it as a regular army from the Volunteer Ceylon Defence Force till 1952. He and his wife Gabrielle, the Countess of Caithness and their children Lady Bridget, Lady Margaret and Malcolm settled in well at “Captain’s House” at Bullers Road. The senior British Naval officer in colonial times lived in this house, hence it was known as the “Captain’s House”. Later on Major General A.R. Udugama M.B.E decided to change the name of the Commander of the Army’s official residence at Bullers Road (now Bauddhaloka Mawatha) from “Captain’s House” to “General’s house”. From the time of the Earl of Caithness, this became the official residence of the Commander of the Army with a short interruption when the Attorney – General moved in there between Brigadier Reid’s departure in 1955 and Brigadier Muttukumaru’s return in January 1956.
The House was built with the initial idea of housing government officials, and it falls under the Class “A” type quarters, having a large drawing room, dining room, office room and four large bedrooms. These quarters are semi-detached, being divided by a hollow wall to prevent the passage of sound. Special attention have been given to ventilating the rooms, each house was provided with electric lights, fans, bells, modern sanitary fittings and was connected to the water-carriage system. According to a letter dated 19 June 1947, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands has temporarily handed over the House then known as the Captain’s House to the then Commander of the Ceylon Garrison Force.
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Coordinates: 6°55′N 79°50′E / 6.917°N 79.833°E