The air is crisp and nippy and the stillness that engulfs the area will certainly make any passer-by ponder on the splendour of nature.
Slightly away from the Hatton-Norwood Road, standing sentinel with a solemn air on a steep hill with a sweeping view of the vast expanse of the still-waters of the Castlereigh reservoir below shimmering in the morning sunlight and the green carpet of tea along its adjacent slopes, is the Anglican Christ Church of Warleigh, Dick Oya.
The picturesque setting and the beautiful stone church which enhances the serenity and calms the frazzled heart will add to the believers’ faith that this is very much a part of God’s wondrous work.
A walk around the tiny, cozy church, all woodwork and stone, with fewer than 100 seats and the churchyard with its rambling vines and bushes dotted with bright flowers takes you down the corridors of time.
With its colonial-style architecture and picture-postcard background, the church attracts many a visitor, says Fr. Andrew Devadasan under whose staff falls Christ Church although he is based at Dick Oya.
Built by the British for the British long ago, the church is now very much a community one, he says, explaining that both Tamils and Sinhalese attend services here or drop-by to say a quick prayer.
The congregation of about 20-30 regulars is often augmented by holidaymakers who attend the English services held every first and third Sunday of the month.
Today, Christmas Day, as the church celebrates the birth of the Holy One in whose name it has been established, Fr. Devadasan recalls how the true spirit of peace and harmony has strengthened the church.
Some years ago the church lost its power lines, he says, pointing out that the church built on land given by deed of gift lies within the Warleigh Division of the Wanaraja Group of Estates. The electricity was given by the estate but turbulent weather led to a disruption and for many years the services had to be held without lights, only muted sunlight streaming in through the stained-glass windows and lamps on the wooden altar.
It was due to the unstinting support and work of the former Wanaraja Group Manager Buddhika Peiris and Hatton Ceylon Electricity Board Foreman Mr. Divakara that we were able to restore the electricity connection, says Fr. Devadasan, pointing out with humility that both of them are Buddhists. Helping one another, irrespective of one’s religion, is the essence of Christmas.
Nestling amidst giant cypress and flowering trees, Christ Church had been built way back in 1878, 133 years ago, and each and every item within and without are relics of a bygone era. The stained glass windows tell the story of Christ’s humble life while the Bible, nearly as old as the church, sellotaped to ward off the weathering of age, had been gifted in July 1879 by the Revd. Charles Hill, Rector of Warboys Parish in Huntingdonshire, England.
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| Still preserved: The beautiful stained glass windows.
Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara |
Both the baptismal font and the tombstones give a peek not only into the births and lives filled with joy and sorrow, of those, mainly British planters and their families who thronged here to worship so long ago, but also their deaths.
Many are the young ones buried here…….William Brown, son of James Brown of Netherton, Southlandshire of Scotland and brother of James Brown of Hatton who had drowned while crossing a stream in Maskeliya; a small child who had succumbed to yellow fever; 18-month-old Edward Gray who had been buried in 1884 and whose parents’ anguish can very well be felt more than a century later by anyone who stops by his tombstone.
The most eminent personality who is believed to have found eternal rest in this churchyard is the first Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sir William Robert Campbell. Having served as the Chief of Police in the Indian Province of Rathnageri, he had come over to Ceylon in 1866 to take up duties as Chief Superintendent of Police which post was elevated in 1867 to that of IGP.
Securing its own niche on lonelyplanetimages.com (Lonely Planet provides authentic travel advice and information) with three captivating photographs by Kevin Clogstoun, not only does Christ Church Warleigh uplift passers-by but also makes them transcend to a level beyond mere mortals. |
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