When someone hears of Galle, they would for no doubt be reminded of the Galle Fort and many other historic places, as well as the western nations that ruled it from time to time, such as the Dutch and the British.
In the village named ‘Magalla’ in Galle is a historic mansion, also referred to as “Walawwa” about which hundreds of stories are there. The mansion is called “Bailey Kande Walawwa” and it is located about 2 kilometers away from Galle town towards Matara. But today, even those living in Galle may not know this mansion by the name of Bailey Kande Walawwa since it is now known as the “Closenberg Hotel”.
The history of this mansion dates back to the Dutch period. By the year 1719, the Dutch had taken control of the coastal areas of Ceylon and built a fort on a hillock on the south side of the Galle Sea. The Dutch used the name “Klossenburg” to refer to the fort. It means “Fortalice or Citadel on which the sea roars”.
But it became known as the “New Fort” among the people who lived in the area, because after the Galle Fort, this was the newly built fort near the Galle Sea. The fort, which housed two large cannons, was abandoned after the British invasion, but they also continued to call the site “Closenberg”.
One of the oldest paintings of the hill on which this mansion is built, has been found, dating to the British era.
The first surveyor General of Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was known then, C.O. Brien has drawn it and the painting shows the lower left corner of Mount Closenberg, just beyond the island of Gibbet, and beyond it the Galle Fort and the old port of Galle. It is said that this painting was published in 1864 in a printing press in London.
The history of this place changed in 1859 due to Captain Francis Bailey who came to Ceylon aboard the steamship “Hindustan”.
At that time he was the Ceylon Representative of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company or P&O, a popular shipping company. When he came to Galle he was looking for a suitable place to live and came to know about this Closenberg Hill and purchased it.
It is also said that it was purchased from the British government, but this does not appear to be the case. According to Majorie de Mel’s book “A Family Memoir”, by 1800 the land was known as “Ambaranwatta”. This land was sold on 3 May, 1810 by a man named Gerrit Joan Hubertus to a person named Cornelis de Silva Gunaratne Ranasinghe Arachchi. Capt. Bailey buys this land from a man named Cornelis de Silva.
In 1860, Capt. Bailey began building a beautiful, majestic mansion on the ruins of the Dutch fort which was on the land, naming it “Villa Marina” in memory of his beloved wife. What makes it special is that it was Capt. Bailey who became the chief architect of this construction. The building not only had many features of Dutch and British architecture, but also exquisite wood carvings.
Capt. Bailey, who did not stop at building the mansion, got the shipping company for which he was working to bring in a variety of plants from different countries and created a wonderful garden.
He also designed a summer tent at the far end of the park, overlooking the sea. In 1871 he temporarily handed over the mansion to P&O for use as the company’s local agent’s residence. After improving the facilities at the Port of Colombo in the 1870s, Capt. Bailey had to leave Galle in 1889, which in a way saddened him.
Capt. Bailey opened the Villa Marina to the public in 1884 - 1889 with the aim of finding an interested buyer to purchase it. Then, Simon Perera Abeywardena, a Ceylonese businessman who worked as a coal, rice and supply contractor for ships at the time, had enough wealth to buy it and in 1889 he bought the Villa Marina. From then on, the mansion was known as ‘Closenberg’, but it became known to the general public as the ‘Bailey Kande Walawwa’.
Simon Perera Abeywardena had three children and his eldest son, Danister Perera, had no respect for foreigners. The villagers living near the mansion still say that several whites were attacked by him and therefore some whites were even afraid of hearing the name of this mansion.
Simon’s second son, Francis Perera married one of C.H. Zoysa’s daughters, and their daughter, Marjorie Perera de Mel was also a prominent social worker. Regina, the daughter of the Simon family, was married to the son of the late prominent philanthropist Charles Henry de Zoysa’s son and the “Regina Walawwa” named after her is now being used as the College House building for the University of Colombo.
Simon Perera later turned to plantation and owned an estate known as the Walahanduwa Estate.
In addition, he was a pioneer in Buddhist religious activities and became the Chief Contributor of the Magalla Gangarama Temple in Galle.
Meanwhile, the pirith pavilion made of ebony wood in the temple is special. He was one of the few local dignitaries who visited the Port of Galle to welcome Henry Steele Olcott on his arrival in Ceylon. He also took the lead in establishing Buddhist schools as the Treasurer of the Galle Theosophical Society.
The Perera Abeywardena family decides to turn this wonderful mansion or Closenberg House, into a hotel in the year 1965.
Although it has undergone some changes in its transformation into a hotel, it is still maintained as a historic mansion and has become a popular destination for many tourists. The current owner of the mansion is Kumar Perera Abeywardena, a member of the Perera family.
A number of teledramas such as ‘Kaluwara Gedara’ which were telecast some time ago have been shot in association with this hotel. Another reason why this hotel is so popular today is the swimming pool, which looks like it has the same level of water as the sea.