Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital (Colombo)

Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital, Colombo (Photo credit: Google Street View)

Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital (Sinhala: වික්ටෝරියා අනුස්මරණ ඇස් රෝහල) is an eye hospital located facing the Lipton Circus in Cinnamon Gardens in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The idea to build a hospital in memory of the late Queen Victoria (1837-1901) was suggested by Lady West Ridgeway, the wife of the British Governor Joseph West Ridgeway (1896-1903), who with the support of others including Muhandiram N. S. Fernando, Charles Pieris and H. J. Pieris able to lay the foundation stone for the hospital on 6 August 1903 (Manathunga, 2016; Wright, 1999). Designed by Edward Skinner, the hospital building was constructed by the Public Works Department (Manathunga, 2016; Wright, 1999).

The completed hospital was opened on 2 April 1906 (Denham, 1912).

The 2-storied red-brick building bears a blend of Hindu, Moorish and Victorian architecture styles (Manathunga, 2016). At the time of its construction, the building had a frontage of 200 ft., with a depth of 97 ft. from wall to wall, and 38 ft. at the facade (Wright, 1999).

1) Denham, E.B., 1912. Ceylon at the Census of 1911. HC Cottle, government printer, Ceylon. p.382.

2) Manathunga, S. B., 2016. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Kolamba Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-39-9. p.53.

3) Wright, A. ed., 1999. Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources (first published in 1907). Asian Educational Services. pp.421-423,476,552.

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This page was last updated on 8 October 2022