The earliest reference to a religious establishment in ?modern? Nuwara Eliya had been in 1844 by the Oratorion Father Horatio Bettachini, Who had mentioned of a church of which had been built by then in Nuwara Eliya. However the Holy Trinity Church in Nuwara Eliya-the oldest on record-had been built on a land granted to the church in 1847 and it is recorded that by 1852, the church building had been completed and consecrated. The church as it stands today had undergone improvement over the years and a considerable enlargement of its buildings had been recorded for the year 1896.
It was later that the present St.Xaviers Church had come-up and is supposed to have been built on a land granted by Viscount Torrington in 1884. Over the years the activity of this church had been consistent and by 1924 another chapel had been opened at Blackpool by some o the Catholics who had gone to reside in that area then known as Elk-plains and now Ruwan Eliya.
Another church of note which had been set-up in Nuwara Eliya in the early 20th century was the Union Church built by Arnold Paynter in 1912.
Commenting on the religious aspects of the Buddhists F.C Fisher the assistant Agent, said in 18727 that the affairs of the Buddhist temple in the district was in most deplorable state of disorder. However by 1889, the first temple in Nuwara Eliya the Sri Maha Viharaya at Blackpool had been started. It is said that the Temple had been built on a land granted for the purpose by the Sri Saddharmadhara Society, who had purchased it in 1887. Two other temples which have come up later in Nuwara Eliya are the Gangaramaya at Blackpool and the Asokaramaya at Boralanda. Asokaramaya was begun in 1937, in Boralanda or the Moonplains area by a grant of land obtained by Pieris Samarawickrema from Reginald Francis, Herbert Lushinton, Samuel Julien Baker, John Randell Baker, Margaret Papper Koch, and Geraldine Baker. Building operations on this land commenced in 1937 and it had been completed in 1939. The temples in general had looked after both religious and educational needs of the Buddhist through the establishment of school and by providing library facilities and the like, in their institutions.
Providing of adequate educational facilities in Nuwara Eliya had been a rather slow process. As early as 1847 there had been a government vernacular school at Nuwara Eliya and in a report submitted to the Assistant Government Agent in 1853, its teacher Mr.A.de Zylva listed the school property in his charge, which gives a picture of the establishment in that year.
By 1859 the church too had a school, with a single teacher and 33 pupils on roll. By 1860 there was in addition a mixed school run by the government, but in all these the attendance as well as facilities had been minimal.? In 1868 the Assistant Government Agent Liesching called for the establishment of a public School for European children and by 1888 St.Edward had been established in Nuwara Eliya for the benefit of mostly the planting community.
The beginning of Good-shepherd Convent goes back to 1902 when the sister moved to a place called the ?Nest? where the convent was to come up later. In 1921 St.Xavier?s had registered itself as an English school too which had progress during the ensuing three decades. The Holy Trinity School too which had been running as a school for sometime was registered with the government round this period. In 1928 an industrial school was established in Nuwara Eliya and in 1938 was established a secondary school known as Gamini Vidyalata. During the recent past a few more schools have come up in Nuwara Eliya to meet the requirements of an increased population. Sri Piyatissa Vidyalaya at Boralanda had been established in 1957 while Sri Vajiragnana Vidyalaya which was established in 1959, has subsequently established a weaving School, a Carpentry School and a Primary school as well.
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I am Sanjeewa Padmal Punchihewa, a freelance software engineer, freelance National Tourist Guide Lecturer and part time blogger from Colombo, Sri Lanka. I?ve been traveling Sri Lanka since 2000 mainly due to my job. I love this lifestyle and I hope that sharing my knowledge will encourage you to explore more on Sri Lanka.freddie mercury Horshack Beady Eye david bowie Eric Idle rory mcilroy Fatboy Slim
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