About
Established: 1817
Location: Kandy
Country: Sri Lanka
Type: European graveyard [closed]
Coordinates: 7.2928°N 80.6432°E
Owned by: Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Size: 0.3 ha (0.74 acres)
No. of graves: 195
There is a lot of fascinating information about the heroic, adventurous, cowardly, and other various events that have been built around a person who died more than he lived. Such information is critical during the country’s history when the British colonial rule was in place. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Sri Lanka were a period of British rule and emerging opportunity in an English society. The British conquest of the Kandyan kingdom in 1815 had a significant impact on Sri Lanka’s political, economic, social, and cultural sectors. The Kandy Garrison Cemetery can be described as an important archeological site about British English society, which faced many challenges and adhered to a new environment in order to establish their social culture in Sri Lanka.
The British conquest of the Kandyan kingdom in 1815 had a significant impact on Sri Lanka’s political, economic, social, and cultural sectors. Kandy Garrison Cemetery can be described as an important archeological site about British English society. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Sri Lanka were a period of British rule.
It is in the Kandy district, Kandy’s secretariat division, and the central province, adjacent to the Kandy National Museum, and close to the Udawatta jungle. There is also a 120-perch plot of land with 195 tombstones, all of which belong to the British. The Garrison cemetery was used from 1817 to 1909, with little use after 1865 due to the Mahaiyawa cemetery. This was ruled by the temple of “Shemsho” at first, and then by the St. Paul’s church in Kandy. The burial site is now under the care of the British Gravesite Organization.
Tombs are classified into three types based on their construction methods. Burial pillars, flat graves, and burial boards are examples. These are made of marbles and sulfur. It’s surprising that carved boards were brought in from England. On July 22, 2011, the archeological department designated this cemetery as a protected monument. Visitors can gain a clear understanding of the role of the English in Sinhala society in the 19th and 20th centuries by conducting a formal study of the Garrison cemetery. According to researchers, there are 60% men and 40% women buried in the Garrison cemetery.
The Garrison cemetery was used from 1817 to 1909, with little use after 1865 due to the Mahaiyawa cemetery. The burial site is now under the care of the British Gravesite Organization. There are 195 tombstones, all of which belong to the British.
When the age range of the buried was examined, the majority were under the age of 40, with approximately 40% being children. The occupations and causes of death of buried people can be determined by inspecting tombs. Some of the occupations written on the tombs include planters, engineers, lawyers, translators, military officers, public administration, and officers’ wives. Climate change, drought, and Malaria are just a few of the causes of death.
The tomb of Sir John Doily, who patiently awaited British dominance over the Kandyan kingdom, appears to tower over the other monuments. When Henry William Gregory, the British governor of Sri Lanka from 1872 to 1877, returned to Anuradhapura in 1873, his wife Elizabeth Gregory was diagnosed with diarrhea. Her remains are also interred here. Her dog died unexpectedly, and its body was buried in the Royal statue of Kandy, where a monument was erected. The most important characters sleeping in the Garisson ground are John Fazer (a great English engineer) and William Charls Macarie, who translates the “Selalihini Sandesha” into English.
There’s a lot more interesting information in this Garisson burial ground that’s still undiscovered. It is, however, an excellent location for confirming Sri Lankans’ colonial history. There is now a small museum with pictures and additional information.
The Garrison burial ground is an excellent location for confirming Sri Lankan colonial history. The tombs of planters, engineers, lawyers, translators, military officers, public administration, and officers’ wives are found. Climate change, drought, and Malaria are just a few of the causes of death.
Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org
WHERE TO STAY
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