 The Hill Club, Nuwara Eliya | |
 | |
| Address | The Hill Club, 29 Grand Hotel Road, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 6°58′2″N80°45′1″E / 6.96722°N 80.75028°E |
| Owner | Hill Club Co. Ltd. [1] |
| Genre(s) | Gentlemen's club |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1867 |
| Website | |
| hillclubsrilanka | |
The Hill Club is a gentlemen's club in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. Established 1876 by British coffee planters in the hill station of Nuwara Eliya.
The Hill Club was founded in 1876 by W.H. Walker, J. Wickwar and H. Saunders [2] and started with only a billiard room and a bar. [3] The Hill Club was established by the early Coffee, Cinchona and Tea planters and it was natural that most of the members were foreign planters. The first president was Edward Rosling, elected in 1899. [2] The current building dates from the 1930s, when it was built by the British, Colombo-based firm of Edwards, Reid and Begg. [4] The Club did not allow membership to women or locals until 1967. [5]
The Hill Club was the first venue for the Ceylon Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) (now known as the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA)), which was established in 1915 under President (Sir) Robert Chalmers, the then Governor of Ceylon. [6] The CLTA purchasing the courts and clubrooms from the Hill Club in 1928. The venue continued to be used as the headquarters of the CLTA until 1954 when the Association shifted to its present location in Colombo. [6] [7] The site was subsequently sold back to the Hill Club in 1973. [6] The clay courts at the Hill Club were also the venue for the majority of the Nationals between 1884 and 1971. [6] During this time the Nationals were almost always held in April, to coincide with the holiday festive season in Nuwara Eliya, which featured horse racing, hill climbs, car and motorcycle races and flower exhibitions. [8] The Hill Club now holds a ‘B’ Grade open ranking tournament sanctioned by the SLTA. [9] [10]
The Hill Club is situated on a 26 acres (11 ha) property, [2] on Grand Hotel Road. The Hill Club is located adjoining the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club on one side and the country home of Sri Lanka’s President on the other. The English colonial architectural features of the two-storey grey stone building, include wooden staircases, high roofs, hardwood floors, fireplaces and antique furniture. It has 45 rooms including two suites, together with three family chalets. It also has a dining room, two bars, (the 'Casual Bar' and the 'Mixed Bar'), a reading room, ladies' lounge, a games room (the 'Monsoon' room), four International standard tennis courts. It currently has a membership of approximately 750, consisting of both foreign nationals and Sri Lankans.
Nuwara Eliya is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain " or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landscape and temperate climate. It is at an altitude of 1,868 m (6,128 ft) and is considered to be the most important location for tea production in Sri Lanka. The city is overlooked by Pidurutalagala, the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka. Nuwara Eliya is known for its temperate, cool climate – the coolest area in Sri Lanka.
Hatton is a major town in the Nuwara Eliya District of Central Province, Sri Lanka governed by the Hatton-Dickoya Urban Council. Hatton is a major centre of the Sri Lankan tea industry.
The Sri Lanka Scout Association, is a Scouting organization in Sri Lanka operated by the Ceylon Scout Council. The Ceylon Scout Council is a corporation formed by Act No. 13 of 1957. The association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1953. The coeducational Sri Lanka Scout Association has 33,709 members as of 2014. in 2016 the year that the National Organisation reached 104 years the Scouting Population in Sri Lanka had increased to 55,078 the growth taking place against the year 2015 was 29% which was a great achievement by the SLSA.
The Grand Hotel is a four-star boutique hotel in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, that was built in the style of an Elizabethan-era manor house. The hotel has 154 rooms, including three presidential suites, four junior suites, including a governor's suite that have been maintained to preserve the traditional design. The Grand Hotel has a number of restaurants, bars and a billiards room.
The Royal Colombo Golf Club is the oldest golf club in Sri Lanka. Established in 1880, it is located in the capital city of Colombo at The Ridgeway Links also known as the Anderson Golf Course. It is home to the Sri Lanka Golf Union, the governing body of Golf in Sri Lanka and maintains links with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland.
General's House is a country house in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. It is the vacationing and country residence of Members of Parliament. Located within the limits of the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council along the Grand Hotel Drive, next to The Hill Club. It is maintained by the Members Services Office of the Parliament Secretariat.
The Nuwara Eliya Golf Club is one of the oldest Golf Clubs in Sri Lanka. Established in the late 19th century, it is located in the hill station of Nuwara Eliya. It is an 18-hole golf course.
Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) is a national governing body of tennis in Sri Lanka, which represents Sri Lanka on associations like the International Tennis Federation and the Asian Tennis Federation. Its main aim is to popularise tennis in all parts of Sri Lanka as a professional sport and to produce top tennis players from Sri Lanka.
Sundaram Perumal Rajadurai is a Sri Lankan attorney-at-law, politician and former Member of Parliament.
S. Udeiappan Palani Alagan Digambaran is a Sri Lankan politician and government minister. He is the leader of the National Union of Workers (NUW), a member of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG).
Nuwara Eliya Racecourse in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka is the only remaining horse racing venue in Sri Lanka. Situated 1,868 metres (6,129 ft) above sea level the race course is one of the highest in the world. The track has a circumference of 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) with a 333-metre straight.
Norman Rowsell was an Englishman who was one of the first tea planters in British Ceylon. He was also a well known sportsman and became the first Ceylon Labour Commissioner.
St. Mark's Church, is an Anglican church in Badulla in Sri Lanka. The church is located in the central ward of Badulla Municipal Council at the junction of Mahiyangana – Badulla main road (B36). It was consecrated on 25 April 1857 by Bishop James Chapman. In April 2008 the church and the bell tower were formally recognised by the Government as an archaeological protected monument in Sri Lanka and declared as "protected monuments" by the acting Minister of National Heritage, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. The designation was formally included on 6 June 2008 in the government Gazette number 1553.
Thomasine Doreen Sansoni was a Sri Lankan tennis player and national No. 1. She won a total of twenty eight career titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles from 1935 to 1946. Adaptable at competing on two natural surfaces she won titles on both clay and grass courts. She remains the most successful Sri Lankan female player.
The Kandy Garden Club is a social and sports club in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which was established in 1878 for the exclusive use by British coffee planters to play tennis. It is one of the oldest operating sports clubs in the country and the second oldest in Kandy.
Jeevan Thondaman is a Sri Lankan politician, Member of Parliament and Cabinet minister.
Marudapandy Rameshwaran is a Sri Lankan politician, former provincial minister and Member of Parliament.
Palani Elilan Mylvaganam Udayakumar is a Sri Lankan politician, former provincial councillor and Member of Parliament.
The Ceylon Championships later known as the Sri Lankan Championships (1972–76) was a men's and women's national tennis tournament held at the Hill Club Tennis Club, Nuwara Eliya British Ceylon now Sri Lanka from 1884 through 1976.
The Colombo Championships is a men's and women's tennis tournament founded in 1915. It is staged annually in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 1974 it was downgraded from the official senior's worldwide ILTF Circuit. It has however continued as part of the SLTA Circuit and is a registered International Tennis Federation event.
