Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

The following publications are available to purchase from Kabristan Archives.
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GRAVEYARDS IN CEYLON Colombo Vol I by Eileen Hewson

GRAVEYARDS IN CEYLON Nuwara Eliya Vol II by Eileen Hewson
A collection of memorials (about 900 names) in the Holy Trinity Church and the old graveyards of Nuwara Eliya from surveys, written records and biographical details is recorded in this publication, the first since 1913. Several tombstones have been found from the early 20th century survey but many others not previously recorded were found in this later survey of 2008-9.

Nuwara Eliya with its comfortable climate was an oasis for the planters who came from the surrounding tea estates for some home comforts and social life .Under the influence of Sir Samuel Baker the hill station had become a prosperous commercial town and a carbon copy of an English village with the planters’ Hill Club as its social centre. Many planters opted to stay after retirement why go home when you can eat steam pudding and roast beef here and be served by waiters wearing white gloves. Their pensions went a long way in Ceylon and the thought of the cold and expensive climate at home did not appeal.

There are still some reminders of the British period in Nuwara Eliya, the Grand Hotel once the residence of Sir Edward Barnes, Governor of Ceylon, the Hill Club, the Post Office and the fragmented remains of the planters’ lives in its graveyards.

Kabristan Archives 2009 66 pages PB
Price £7.50 plus post UK £1.00 Europe £2.00 Overseas Airmail £4.00
ISBN 978-1-906276-24-9

GRAVEYARDS IN CEYLON Tea Country Vol III by Eileen Hewson
A collection of memorials (about 800 names) found in the graveyards of the tea country of Ceylon from surveys and other written records is recorded in this publication, the first since 1913. Several tombstones have been lost from the early 20th century survey but many others were found in this later one in 2008-09. The churches similar to those found in any English village formed the basis of a community founded by the estate owners mainly Scots and their workers. They also gave the expats a sense of home.

A quick look through the graveyards gives an emerging pattern and shows the stranglehold that some families had on the tea industry where dynasties were established through marriage and nepotism prevailed. Depending on British management and investment and cheap imported labour from South India, tea became the major industry of Ceylon as it is to this day.

The names behind the memorials together with some biographical details give a fascinating insight into the planters who created the tea trade in Ceylon.

Kabristan Archives 2009 92 pages PB
Price £9.00 plus post UK £1.00 Europe £2.00 Overseas Airmail £3.00
ISBN 978-1-906276-25-6

GRAVEYARDS IN CEYLON Kandy Region Vol IV by Eileen Hewson
A collection of memorials approx 750 and 761 burial plot records found in surveys and other written sources. The Kandy War Cemetery and the outlying districts of Gampola and Kurunegala are also included. Although several tombstones have been lost from an earlier survey circa 1910 many others not previously recorded were found in this later one. The inscriptions or records give an indication of its chequered past with many Cingalese names of Portuguese origin, Dutch burgers, Tamils and those of the British settlers principally soldiers and some planters. Although the kingdom of Kandy remained independent throughout the rule of the Portuguese and Dutch it eventually succumbed to the British in the early 19th century and became a garrison town. Its status recovered during World War II when it was designated the headquarters of South Asia Command for the Allied Forces.

Kabristan Archives 2010 123 pages PB
Price £10.50 plus post UK £1.00 Europe £2.00 Overseas Airmail £4.00
ISBN 978-1906276-34-8

PROTESTANT MARRIAGES Nuwara Eliya Ceylon by Eileen Hewson FRGS
A register of marriages (about 1000 names) in Holy Trinity Church, Nuwara Eliya, include people of all races. Tamils mainly from the tea estates or the labouring classes who had converted to Christianity from Hinduism, the Burghers who were mainly descended from the Dutch, the Cingalese some with Portuguese names and the British who were so short of female company that they often married local girls. Others took their pick from the ladies who ostensibly came to Ceylon for a holiday but secretly they were looking for a husband and known as the 'fishing fleet' and they certainly had plenty of choice. The girls usually stayed in a hotel or with friends and are recorded in the register as 'arrived from England.'

Nuwara Eliya with its comfortable climate was a good base for marriages and appealed to the Europeans. Under the influence of Sir Samuel Baker (1846) the hill station had become a prosperous commercial town and a carbon copy of an English village. The church was completed in 1852 and attracted many engaged couples from other parts of Ceylon to have their weddings in an atmosphere reminiscent of home.

Kabristan Archives 2009 42 pages PB
Price £5 plus post UK £0.90 Europe £1.60 Overseas Airmail £2.50
ISBN 978-1-906276-26-3