Galle Road Old Milestones

1st Milestone, Galle Road (Photo credit: Google Street View)

A few old milestones erected along the Galle road are found preserved in several places around Colombo City, Sri Lanka.

1st milestone

The first milestone of the road is presently located in front of the Taj Samudra Hotel (6°55'20.5"N 79°50'46.0"E).

This milestone is believed to have been installed on Galle road before the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) as it contains the word "King's House" (Manathunga, 2016). At the time, it is said that the road's distance had been measured from the King's House (present President's House) which is located adjacent to the Gordon Gardens (Manathunga, 2016). The milestone which had been dismantled and thrown by the wayside later is said to have been installed at the present location in 1978 (Manathunga, 2016). The English inscription on the milestone can be read as follows;

Side I: 1 Mile from the King's House
Side II: This road made A.D. 1814

7th milestone

The seventh milestone is located in front of the S. Thomas' College in Mount Lavinia (6°50'15.8"N 79°51'59.2"E).

This is one of the original milestones erected along Galle road to mark distance during the time of Robert Brownrigg (1812-1820), the 3rd Governor of British Ceylon (Manathunga, 2016). The English inscription on the milestone can be read as follows;

Side I: VII Miles 1817

References

1) Manathunga, S. B., 2016. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Kolamba Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-39-9. pp.44-45,94.

This page was last updated on 24 January 2023