Tintagel Mansion in Colombo

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Tintagel Mansion that Influenced Sri Lanka's Political History


Tintagel Castle is regarded by the English as the sacred land and legendary residence of King Arthur. Inspired by its theme and featuring bold architectural characteristics, a unique mansion reflecting this concept exists in Sri Lanka — the Tintagel Mansion located in Rosmead Place, Colombo 07. Presently operated as a small luxury hotel, this mansion was once owned by Dr. Lucien Arnold Emmanuel de Silva (08/01/1875 – 11/06/1969), Sri Lanka’s first specialist gynecologist.


The mansion was designed by Homi Framjee Billimoria (1901–1956), a Parsi architect, and construction was completed in 1929. Around the same period, Dr. de Silva also built another mansion in Kandy known as “Tree Tops.” The mansion in Colombo, which resembles a fortress with no visible roof at first glance, once housed a tennis court, a library of about 6,000 valuable books, and a music room equipped with a grand piano and violins — all meant to support a lavish, royal lifestyle tailored for the Silva family.


The Silva family lived in this mansion for just over a decade. However, during World War II, the British administration requisitioned the house to accommodate 100 British soldiers, giving the family only a week's notice to vacate. The occupation led to significant damage to the building, which caused Dr. de Silva great distress.


During this time, a newlywed couple, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Ratwatte, were living on rent in a house called “Wentworth,” located on Guilford Crescent and owned by renowned Sri Lankan artist Lionel Wendt. SWRD’s father, the wealthy headman Solomon Dias, was searching for a house for his son in the Colombo 07 Kurunduwatta area. Eventually, a deal was concluded with Dr. Lucien for a price of Rs. 160,000.


Thus began the Bandaranaike family's residence at Tintagel, where they lived for over five decades, experiencing both political triumphs and tragedies. SWRD Bandaranaike became Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1956 and was assassinated by a Buddhist monk in 1959 — an event that occurred at this very mansion. His wife, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, became the world's first female Prime Minister, departing from this residence to Temple Trees.


She won multiple elections and held the Prime Ministerial post for a long time, living at Tintagel until the year 2000. Their son, Anura Bandaranaike, was born at Tintagel in 1949. From there, he served as Leader of the Opposition in 1983, and later as Speaker of Parliament and Minister in 2000. Their daughters, Sunethra and Chandrika, also grew up at the mansion. Chandrika Kumaratunga held the posts of Chief Minister and Prime Minister for brief periods before becoming Sri Lanka’s first Executive President in 1994, marking another historic chapter in the Bandaranaike political dynasty all while residing at Tintagel.


Dr. Lucien de Silva, who studied at Royal College Colombo and S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia, had a passion for reading since childhood. After passing the Senior Cambridge exam in 1891, he earned a scholarship and sailed to England at the age of 17 for further studies. There, he graduated with a BSc, winning gold medals in Physical Sciences. From 1901 to 1904, he contributed articles to both the British Medical Association’s Ceylon branch journal and medical journals in the UK.


While practicing medicine in Britain, Dr. Lucien met his life partner  Charlotte Eleanor Sachs, a young woman from a wealthy Anglo-German family. The couple had four daughters: Madeleine, Heloise, Pearl, and Lorette. A highly intelligent and articulate man fluent in English, German, French, Tamil, and Sinhala, he published his autobiography, Scenes of a Lifetime, in 1967 at the age of 70.


Dr. Lucien de Silva lived like royalty in Sri Lanka and was also close to the British aristocracy during his time in England. During the CHOGM summit held in Sri Lanka, Prince Charles, who represented Queen Elizabeth, stayed at Tintagel  likely due to the historical ties between Dr. Lucien, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, and the British crown.










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