Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo hosts a rich associational culture - much of it influenced by the clubs dating to the period of British colonial rule after 1815. Many of the clubs of Sri Lanka today reflect the social and sporting interests of colonial life during these years; offering cricket, football, golf, hockey, rowing, swimming, squash and tennis. Most were founded by (and originally exclusively for) the British, though some Sinhalese clubs were also set up in response. Dominion status was granted to Ceylon in 1948, affording a greater measure of autonomy; and in 1972 it became independent, changing its name to the present Sri Lanka. But many of the colonial-era clubs remain today.
The Gymkhana Club of Colombo. (Photo credit: Gymkhana Club website.)
The city’s club with the oldest roots is the Gymkhana Club, which claims a foundation date of 1863, though this is somewhat complicated by its having had a predecessor club formed in 1849 as an overseas branch of the Victoria Regatta Club of Canton, China, which itself had been formed in 1832 for British traders across Asia. The Colombo branch - initially called the Colombo Club - was in turn the successor to an original Colombo Club of the 1800s, which had become defunct by the 1840s. The Club follows the gymkhana sporting model for social clubs which was so popular among the British in mid-19th century India, in port cities such as Calcutta (Kolkata), Madras (Chennai), Bombay (Mumbai) and Karachi. The Gymkhana Club moved to its current premises in 1962, when the army purchased the historic grandstand and racecourse. The Club remained Europeans-only until 1964. In recent years, it has been embroiled in complex legal cases against the government over its tax liability and status.
The Colombo Gymkhana Club has a unique operating model, however, in that it owns and manages three different (but separate) sporting clubs within. The oldest of the three was the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC), founded in 1863. Secondly, there is the Colombo Hockey & Football Club (CH & FC), formed in 1892. The third of its subsidiary clubs is the Queen’s Club (QC), a tennis club formed in 1899. Further details of all three are found below.
The Colombo Cricket Club, playing on the grounds of the Gymkhana Club shared with the Queen’s Club and the Colombo Hockey & Football Club. (Photo credit: User ‘killswitch125’, Wikimedia Foundation.)
The Colombo Cricket Club is the oldest of the three components, claiming roots in the Gymkhana Club’s cricket match for the 97th Regiment of the British Army, held in 1832. It has been based at its current Maitland Crescent cricket ground since 1893. It remained Europeans-only until 1962.
The Colombo Hockey & Football Club shares the Cricket Club and Gymkhana’s grounds. The Colombo Football Club was originally launched in 1879, and the Hockey Club in 1892, with the two merging in 1896. It remained British-only until 1965.
The Queen's Club is the city’s oldest squash and tennis club, established in 1899. It remained European-only until 1948, and merged into the Gymkhana Club in 1958. It occupies a separate site from the other Gymkhana clubs.
The Colombo Rowing Club. (Photo credit: Colombo Rowing Club website.)
Moving beyond the Gymkhana, the Colombo Rowing Club was established in 1864 at the instigation of Sir Edward Creasy, Chief Justice of Ceylon, and remains as much a social club as a rowing club. It is based on the shores of Beira Lake in the north of the city. In 1898, it ran a race against the Madras Rowing Club - which continues to this day as the Madras-Colombo Regatta.
The bar of the Colombo Club. (Photo credit: Colombo Club website.)
Reviving the name of the original Colombo Club of the 1800s is the city’s Colombo Club, founded as a social club in 1871. It still occupies part of its original building in the north of the city, built as the grandstand of the Colpetty Race Course; though the building has since changed hands, and is now the Taj Samudra Hotel operated by Tata, with the Club occupying part of the premises.
The Royal Colombo Golf Club’s clubhouse. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Foundation.)
The Royal Colombo Golf Club dates to 1879, and rapidly became the city’s premiere golf club during the years of imperial rule. It moved to its present site in the district of Gothamipura in 1896; and in 1928, it was granted Royal patronage by King George V, enabling it to use the “Royal” prefix.
The Orient Club clubhouse. (Photo credit: Tripadvisor.)
As a response to the Europeans-only social clubs which dominated Colombo in the late 19th century, the Orient Club was founded in 1894 as a Sinhalese-only club. The Club is now based on Racecourse Avenue. Although the Club now admits all nationalities, it remains men-only.
Grounds of the Sinhalese Sports Club. (Photo credit: Sinhalese Sports Club website.)
Another club founded for non-Europeans at this time was the Sinhalese Sports Club, established in 1899. Whereas the Orient Club was primarily a social club, the Sinhalese Sports Club sought to rival the Gymkhana Club. Offering tennis, squash, badminton, swimming and billiards, it includes the country’s most successful cricket club - though that suffered a relegation after a major defeat earlier this year.
The Colombo Swimming Club, seen from the coast. (Photo credit: Colombo Swimming Club website.)
A more recent club - by the city’s standards - is the Colombo Swimming Club. Originally formed in 1936 as the Colombo Amateur Swimming Club, meeting informally in the Galle Face Hotel, two years later it purchased its current seafront mansion, “Storm Lodge.” The following year, the titular swimming pool was completed and formally opened by the Governor of Ceylon, Sir Andrew Caldecott.
The Hill Club of Nuwara Eliya. (Photo credit: Experiential Journeys website.)
Finally, well beyond the boundaries of Colombo, no overview of the clubs of Sri Lanka would be complete without honourable mention of the Hill Club of Nuwara Eliya, high in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka’s Central Province. The Hill Club was founded in 1876, and occupies a clubhouse that is part mock-Tudor, and part Scottish castle in style. Today, the Hill Club operates a public-facing hotel as well as a members’ club.
You can view the full and varied backlog of Clubland Substack articles, by clicking on the index below
Index
Articles are centred around several distinct strands, so the below contains links to the main pieces, sorted by theme.