Like many in Kandy, I grew up gazing at the old remand prison with a strange mix of dread and curiosity. Behind those flaking white walls on King’s Street, next to the dusty legal offices and the solemn St. Paul’s Church, lurked tales of rebellion, betrayal, and courtroom drama.
After two centuries of faded glory, this manor house-turned prison received a much anticipated facelift, and last Sunday (20) – the re-born Ehelepola Walawwa was opened to the public with pomp and circumstance worthy of Sri Lanka’s last kingdom.
Built on 141 acres of land, the manor home originally belonged to nobleman Ehelepola Maha Adikaram. The house was homed to Ehelopla Kumarihami and Veera Madduma Bandara – the country’s most renowned youth national hero.
After the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, the British seized the Ehelopla Walawwa and converted it to a prison to hold more than 50 high-profile freedom fighters who took up arms against the colonisers. Adding insult to injury, the Maha Adikaram was imprisoned in his former home.
That bitter irony is now being rewritten. With its recent restoration, the Walauwa joins a growing list of historic colonial-era structures across the island being reimagined — not as relics of occupation, but as testaments to cultural endurance.
Today, the Ehelepola Walawwa houses a wax museum, a star-class restaurant dubbed “King’s Court” , the original terracotta courtyard and Prison Arcade shopping complex.
Waxed legacy
The ‘Kandyan Era Wax Museum’ features life-size wax statues of key historical figures from 1594 to 1818 – figures who had helped shape four hundred years of history. Carefully designed to match historical accuracy, the wax museum will take you down three colonial eras and open our nation’s history like never before.
The exhibit would without a doubt, fill any Sri Lankan with utmost pride as I have felt, knowing that in the following years – many foreign tourists would walk those halls and witness our storied heritage and culture.
The King’s Court offers a unique dining experience with authentic dishes of local culinary delights served in all the vintage trappings like earthenware cups and dishes complete with rattan sofas, fully functional cloth fans and dumb waiters.
I took a stroll around the precincts. I just could not wrap my head around standing on those ramparts, in the cold breeze of a Kandy afternoon. Years ago, and I used to be just a pedestrian like many others – wondering what the inside of those high walls looked like. The King’s Street they said – was the thoroughfare that the royals took when they went out into the city.
The monsoon had left puddles that reflected the lofty eaves of the Walawwa. I went inside the shopping district. While browsing the shops selling artisanal goods, I chanced to stumble on a very unique boutique selling specialty teas and coffee. Christened ‘Royal Touch,’ the boutique is run by a warm and welcoming Kandyan couple.
Royal Touch’s proprietor, Dr. Sujatha Rajapaksha, said that tea is an art and that they want to add more value to the product while keeping things affordable to both local and foreign tourists. She said that specialty tea and coffee are sadly out of the reach of Sri Lankan consumers. “I want locals to appreciate premium blends grown in our own soil,” she said smiling while adding that the store was their first outlet.
Before parting ways she pointed out to me the store’s strategic significance. “You can see the Buddha Statue on Bahirawa Mountain from our store”. The seated Buddha kept silent watch over the sacred city viewed through the iron bars of the former prison – an auspicious sign for Kandy’s shining new jewel – Ehelepola Walawwa.
Pictures by Sulochana Gamage
