Old Nupe Market (Matara)
The Old Nupe Market (Sinhala: මාතර පැරණි නූපේ වෙළඳ ගොඩනැගිල්ල) is a historic building situated in Matara town, Sri Lanka. The building is located at the Nupe junction on Nilwala Bypass road about 2 km distance from the Matara Bus station. History
The British constructed this building during their colonial period to be used as a marketplace (Abeyawardana, 2004; Wikramaratne, 2015).
The construction of markets became a usual urban tradition since the beginning of the colonial period. During the British occupation, markets were built in several main towns in the country such as Colombo, Galle, and Jaffna. The Welekade Market at Badulla (built in 1889) and the vegetable market at Galle (built-in 1890) provide evidence that the British had started to build markets around the country during the late 19th century. The old Nupe market at Matara is thought to be a contemporary work of the Welekade market. Conservation
The building was conserved in the 1980s by the Urban Development Authority…
