Westminster House

Westminster House, the official residence in Colombo for the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, is situated in Cinnamon Gardens, a suburb of Colombo.

Westminster House
Location in central Colombo
General information
Address	Wijerama Mawatha
Town or city	Colombo
Country	Sri Lanka
Coordinates	6.9066°N 79.8726°E / 6.9066; 79.8726

In 1948 Ceylon became a dominion within the commonwealth and the British established a high commission that year. The High Commissioner was originally domiciled in a government bungalow, Four Furlongs, on Bauddhaloka Mawatha (formerly Bullers Road) in Cinnamon Gardens.[1] In March 1950 that the Ceylonese government provided a 0.5 ha (1.2 acres) site for the High Commissioner's new residence, on a 99-year lease, on Wijerama Mawatha (formerly MacCarthy Road), in Cinnamon Gardens, however the lease was not formally signed until March 1952.[1]

The building, a colonial style bungalow, with large gardens, was designed by the Ministry of Works in New Delhi, for an estimated cost of £40,000.[1] Works on the residence commenced in July 1952 and it was completed in March 1954. Most of the furniture for the ground floor was designed, in a contemporary style, by Dennis Lennon. The residence was named after the Palace of Westminster. The final cost was £53,795, plus £12,000 for furnishings and equipment.[1]

The offices of the High Commission occupied a six-storey office building, designed by Charles Kidby of the Ministry of Works, on a 1.6 ha (4.0 acres) site, on Galle Road in Colpetty. Construction of the office building commenced in April 1963, with the laying of a foundation stone by Sir Michael Walker, and opened in January 1966.[1] In the late 1990s the British Government decided that the existing office of the High Commission was no longer fit for purpose and acquired a 0.8 ha (2.0 acres) site on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, from the Meteorological Department, adjacent to Westminster House.[2] In 2001 the Scottish architectural practice, Richard Murphy Associates, in collaboration with local architect, Milroy Perera, was commissioned to design the new offices. The single-storey building has a central spine traversing the middle of the site with four wings leading off it on either side in a staggered arrangement, creating a series of small intimate courtyards, reflecting aspects of traditional Sri Lankan architecture.[2] The building was formally opened in May 2008.[2]

On 14 November 2013, King Charles celebrated his 65th birthday at Westminster House, whilst he was attending the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka as the Prince of Wales.