Gordon Gardens in Colombo, established by Governor Sir Arthur Gordon to honor Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, is now part of the President's House.
Gordon Gardens (Colombo) Gordon Gardens (Sinhala: ගෝර්ඩන් උද්යානය) is a non-public park attached to the President's House in Colombo Fort, Sri Lanka. It is considered the first public garden in the Colombo Fort area (Sujata, 2020). Presently, the garden has been designated as an archaeological protected monument by the government through the gazette notification published on 8 October 1999 (Sujata, 2020). History The park was originally an open ground of about 95 acres with a cemetery at the time of the Portuguese arrival on the island (Manathunga, 2016; Sujata, 2020). St. Lawrence, the first church by the Portuguese was erected on this site (Manathunga, 2016). The body of Prince Don Juan Dharmapala (1550-1597 A.D.) of Kotte who received the support of the Portuguese was buried at the St. Francis Church which was erected on the same site later (Manathunga, 2016; Sujata, 2020). This church was demolished by the Dutch (Dutch Ceylon: 1658-1796) who took control of the Colombo Fort in 1656 (Manathunga, 2016; S…
