A unique blend of Dutch colonial and modern style on a hilltop near Galle

Private residence

Mar 6

A 16 acre estate with supreme hilltop views and and a blend of buildings both uniquely restored and designed in contemporary style

For sale - Guide price on application

Extent - 16 acres
5 bedrooms with private bathrooms
Built square footage - 9,470
Additional staff/drivers quarters, laundry, linen room, storage
Swimming pool (22m x 5m)
Reference - 145

Overview

A supreme blend of Dutch colonial style and minimalist contemporary design, thoughtfully laid out on a hilltop overlooking the floodplain of the Gin river within close reach of historic Galle on Sri Lanka’s South Coast.

Armitage Hill is unique in Sri Lanka for its unashamed melding of styles and traditions.

And while other properties might have proud hilltop positions, very few boast the views and angles of this one, taking in the curves of the Gin River, the jungle and the rice paddy fields around it.

The property is a one-off, much deserving the praise and attention it, and the architect who conceived it, have garnered.

Brochure

Armitage Hill has a 200-year history, its central house built in 1820, the focal point of a large rubber and lowland tea estate.
It was home, through the 19th and early 20th century to notable Sri Lankan families, occupying it largely in its original layout.
Inheritance partitions and land reforms led to the breaking up of the full estate and by the 1990s the property was owned multiply in much smaller blocks.
In 1995, Australian architect Kerry Hill - having worked extensively in Sri Lanka developing properties for the Aman Group of hotels - acquired the original house, by that point much neglected. In the years that followed he purchased neighbouring plots, returning the estate, though smaller, to something approaching its original, early 19th-century, form.
Having restored the main house, he then much extended the built property with a series of pavilions, contemporary in style and reflecting his own celebrated take on tropical modernist architecture.
The property now hosts the Hill family and visiting guests throughout the year. It has been immaculately maintained in the unique style of its renovation and extension.
The built space is primarily made of the original Plantation House - beautifully restored with two neatly symmetrical bedrooms and bathrooms, large drawing room and wide verandah overlooking the main lawn - and three Pavilions.

The Black and Grey Pavilion have one and two bedrooms respectively. The former with a wonderful study and sitting room seemingly nestled in the tree canopy.

The Dining Pavilion sits along the fourth side of the main courtyard.
The property extends to 16 acres surrounding the hilltop. The top section - of approximately 2 acres - is landscaped with well kept lawns, courtyards and wide pathways.
The remaining land, formerly rubber and tea, has been allowed to ‘go wild’, now proving a good buffer, enveloping the property as a mix of jungle and wild plantation.
Access to the Plantation House and Pavilions is via a private tarmac driveway that winds through the jungle.
Well located on Sri Lanka’s South-Western tip, Armitage Hill sits just 8km from Galle and its historic Fort.
The strip of coastline here has long been the most sought-after for visitors to the island and Galle remains a Southern hub with the likes of the Literary Festival attracting several thousand visitors each year and new creative hospitality inside the Fort offering a fresh appeal for visitors and residents alike.
The Southern Expressway now fully connects to the highway north of Colombo, bringing the principal International Airport within a comfortable two-hour drive.