Garumuni Walawwa | 19 Century Mansion of De Soysa Family

Garumuni Walawwa (Sinhala: ගරුමුණි වලව්ව) is an old manor house situated in Balapitiya in Galle District, Sri Lanka. It is considered a representative sample of the important colonial-period buildings in the Southern region of the country (CCF, 2015).

The construction of Walawwas as the abodes for the elite people of the southern region came into prominence in the late 19th and early 20th century and the Garumuni Walawwa was one such manor house built by the De Soysa family in the 19th century (CCF, 2015). It is said that this building housed the meeting of the Donoughmore Commission in 1928 (CCF, 2015).

In 1990, the building was donated to the government by Iyan De Soysa and Neville De Soysa. Presently, it is maintained under the direction of the Central Cultural Fund.

1) CCF, 2015. Conservation of Garumuni Walawwa. CCF Newsletter Vol. 1. Central Cultural Fund. p.8.