Looking back at the story of Colombo Fort
‘The Fort of Colombo- from a stockade to a city’ will be the subject of the next National Trust lecture at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27. The lecture will be delivered by Chryshane Mendis and Archt. Ismeth Raheem.
The port of Kolonthota or Colombo was an ancient port which later became a Moorish centre and from the 15th century onwards the principal port in the country due to its proximity to the capital city of Kotte. The habour of Colombo was distinguished by a rocky arm stretching into the sea northwards. Due to its importance in trade and its proximity to the capital, the Portuguese, the first Europeans made it their chief settlement which grew from a small stockade from 1518 to a magnificently fortified city by the mid-16th century.
This fortress withstanding many sieges finally fell to the Dutch in 1656 who subsequently redesigned the city forming the present layout of the Fort and the Pettah. Falling into the hands of the British in 1796 the Fort was continuously used up to the mid-19th century where it was demolished expanding into the modern city of Colombo. Although much of the fort was demolished, several sections were left of which seven locations could be still seen today in the busy commercial hub of Fort.
Chryshane Mendis is currently an undergraduate of the Aquinas University College reading for his bachelor’s degree in Humanities.
Architect Ismeth Raheem is also a well historian and artist.