Lorenz and old Matara

by Avishka Mario Senewiratne

“Home interprets heaven. Home is heaven for beginners.”— Charles Henry Parkhurst

From his humble beginnings in Matara to being the most popular man of his day, Charles Ambrose Lorenz lived and owned several houses. Each of these homes has been of some historical significance. Some places and cities acquire considerable importance when celebrated personalities live there or are linked with them. Nazareth might not have been as well known if Christ was not ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. Likewise, some obscure places received unprecedented recognition when people of repute hail from such places.

Where Lorenz is concerned, however, there are so many places and houses that he is connected to and each of them has earned some distinction by such connection to this much-beloved son of the soil. Unlike in England where the ‘blue plaque’ is installed in homes commemorating celebrated individuals who once lived there, no such custom prevails in this country which boasts of 2,500 years of recorded history. Only a few surviving documents and writings can determine where such greats once lived. Fortunately, the subject of this essay is a man whom people of all kinds did not overlook. From the house where he was born to where he died, each house has been recorded in various documents.

The Prussian-born Johan Freiderick Wilhelm Lorenz lived in a well-built house called the “Rose Cottage” with his third wife, Anna Petronella Smith when C. A. Lorenz was born. Lorenz Sr. had lived nearly all of his life in Galle and Matara since migrating to Ceylon. There was a substantial Dutch Burgher presence in Matara at that time. Rose Cottage was situated only half a mile from the Matara Fort and on the right bank of the Nilwala River. This single-storey house has a large compound which extends to the river. It existed well into the 1970s/80s.

In the early 1930s, this house was owned by Edward Buultjens, who used it as his country residence (Van de Wall, E.L., (1933), Ceylon Causerie, June, p. 7). In the mid-20^th century, Rose Cottage was owned by Mr. A. L. B. Ferdinand of the Ceylon Civil Service who was an Additional Deputy Controller of Textiles (Toussaint, J. R., (1956), JDBU, p. 60). However, with the need for newer designs and a change of architectural preference, Rose Cottage which was slowly deteriorating, was demolished never to rise again. Not many in Matara recall this historic home abode any more.

Lodge Harmony

A few years later, the Lorenz family moved to Lodge Harmony, which adjoined the Rose Cottage. A few hundred meters West of the old Dutch Star Fort of Matara, Lodge Harmony, a two-storeyed abode was a large and spacious structure, well equipped with a very large drawing room and several large high-ceilinged and ventilated rooms. How this romantic name was derived was beyond question as J. F. Lorenz had taught each of his children to play various musical instruments and the people of Matara were delighted to hear the sweet music from this house regularly.

Like Rose Cottage, this home sat on top of the grassy banks of Nilwala, sloping down to the river. The front section of the house faces the river while the back faces the main road which now goes by the name Kumarathunga Road (named after the scholar Kumarathunga Munidasa). Between the house and the river exists a detached set of outbuildings, which once consisted of a kitchen, servant rooms, a stable and a well. The style of the architecture of Lodge Harmony is unique and must be studied further in greater detail.

The two levels of the house have considerable variations. Though the structure of Lodge Harmony has an obvious Dutch influence (based on the entrance, inside doors and windows), the French casement window frames indicate that the Lodge Harmony may have been built in the later Dutch period or the early British period. This idea is further strengthened by two veranda rooms on the riverside and the Palladian motif. (cf. Lewcock, Sansoni & Senanayake, (1998), The Architecture of an Island, p. 226) An unusual aspect of the design of the roof is that the slope at the front differs contrastingly from the slope at the back.

Though the exact origins of Lodge Harmony are not known, J. F. Lorenz owned it from the day he moved into it till his passing in 1845. His widow and some of his children, including J. F. Lorenz Jr. continued to live there. Charles Lorenz, who was by then well settled with his sister and brother-in-law in Colombo, never failed to visit Matara and this beautiful house during vacations. E. H. Van der Waal, who was a great admirer of Lorenz mentioned the following in the Ceylon Causerie of June 1933:

“Many years ago, when I was a school-boy in Matara and when teachers and teaching methods were not up to the high standard of modern-day requirements, “meaning books’ were in great demand, The master demanded the meaning of ‘”Lodge” and directed his question at one of the boys, who later attained a prominent position in public life. With a ready smile of assurance, there came the instant reply: “Harmony”! (p. 7)

Young Charles Lorenz loved the Nilwala river and in his later days, wrote endearing verses of his various pleasure trips on the river. (cf. Blaze, B. R., (1948), The Life of Lorenz, pp. 2-3). It was in Matara that he came across people from all walks of life. Matara then was a very cosmopolitan town with a strong Dutch influence. This shaped young Lorenz to a better understanding of the people of the country. It is evident that he learnt Sinhala apart from English and Dutch to converse with the Sinhalese of the area. As the years passed by and his success kept growing, the people of Matara came to know of his attainments and were proud that a ‘son of Matara’ was achieving greatness for himself and the country in those colonial days.

Lorenz in turn, never distanced himself from his childhood town. In his writings to the Young Ceylon in the early 1850s, it is clear that he drew much inspiration from Matara and one of its well-known areas, Devundara (Dondra), which meant “the city of the gods”. Whenever he had the time to escape from his busy life in Colombo, Lorenz took a ride to Matara. Visiting Matara after a long interval, he would often take a walk to visit old places and faces familiar to him in his childhood. The following is quoted from John Penry Lewis’ monumental 1913 tome, Tombstone and Monuments of Ceylon:

“No town in Ceylon, not relatively in proportion to its size but absolutely, has produced such a number of distinguished men as Matara,” among them Governor Falck, Sir Henry Lawrence, and C. A. Lorenz. Matara …. enjoyed this reputation for the intellectual superiority of her sons even in the time of the native sovereigns; and though some doubt may rest on the tradition which makes it the birthplace of Kalidasa, there can hardly be any that for many centuries under their own native sovereigns the men of Matara always carried away the palm or literary merit; and even at the present day the Kandyans seem to entertain a pious reverence for the learning Matara.” (Here J. P. Lewis has quoted from the Sir Richard Morgan Biography by Digbv, vol. II., p. 217)

After the Lorenz family, between 1894 and 1900, Lodge Harmony was owned by a kinsman of Lorenz and an eminent proctor called J. H. Ernst. During this time, E. H. Van der Waal who was a master at Royal College spent regular holidays in this house. In his writings, Van der Waal states how he enjoyed fishing and crab catching at the compound behind the house leading to the river. In the early 1900s, a leading businessman in the trade of plumbago, cinnamon and rubber called Endoris de Silva Balasuriya purchased Lodge Harmony for the purpose of a warehouse and office.

After he died in 1915, his widow transferred the ownership to their eldest son Crown Proctor Wilmot Balasuriya, a person involved in Urban politics. In order to raise funds for his political affairs Wilmot had to mortgage Lodge Harmony twice between 1917 and 1934. His mother, who was gravely upset by this, saved the property by lending money on the first occasion. However, in 1934 when the same problem arose, she transferred the ownership to her second son Dr. Garvin Balasuriya (1902-1990). Living in the upper storey, Dr. Balasuriya ran a medical practice and dispensary in this house.

In 1942, during World War II, Dr. Balasuriya purchased the Robert Press in Panchikawatte, moved the printing machinery to Lodge Harmony, and rebranded it as Carlton Press. The machinery included old typographic and letter-press printers which went out of business with the dawn of offset and digital printing. After he died in 1990, the press was transferred to his son Indrajith Balasuriya (1940-2023), a landed proprietor and agriculturist. In 2004, when the Tsunami hit the coastal area of Matara, seawater streamed into the back compound of the house. Indrajith Balasuriya spent a lot to restore the damages. However, in certain parts of the back compound, trees do not grow any more as the soil has been contaminated with salt. Though this historical abode goes by the name Carlton Press and not Lodge Harmony any more, the Balasuriya family must be credited for preserving and protecting it for more than a century.

Though not a house where Lorenz lived, the Dutch Church of Matara was a significant due to the fact that Lorenz was baptized there in 1829. His family were devout worshippers at this Church and through his many letters and writings, we come to understand that Charles Lorenz had a deep affection for the Church. The old Dutch Church is located behind the famous Star Fort of Matara.

Between 1763-65, the Fort was built by Baron Van Eck, the Dutch Governor who sacked Kandy in 1765, after the infamous Matara Rebellion of 1760-61. Previously, when the Dutch took over Galle and Matara in 1640, a small rampart was built. The German traveller, Wolfgang Heydt wrote and sketched the Matara village and the fort in 1736. Also featured in the illustrations is the Dutch Reformed Church.

Although the Church is believed to have been consecrated in 1704, tombstones more ancient have been found (the oldest being as early as 1685) in the Church Graveyard (See Lewis, J.P., (1913), Tombstone and Monuments of Ceylon, Government Printer, p. 205). Regarding the architecture of the Church, B. R. Blaze says “It is not so typically Dutch in Architectural style as the Galle church, nor is it imposing in size or appearance…” (Blaze, p. 3). However, R. L. Brohier comments on it as follows: “The building of greatest antiquarian interest in Matara Fort is the old Dutch Church” (Brohier, R. L., (1965), Seeing Ceylon, p. 158). J. P. Lewis commented in 1902 that “The tout ensemble strikes one at once as very Dutch”. Among the many who are buried in the Church’s graveyard is the father of Iman William Falck, the most popular Dutch Governor who ruled the maritime region of Ceylon for 20 years.

When renovations took place in the Church during the twentieth century, it was discovered that the current structure (which was also the same during the days of Lorenz) was built in 1769. However, it is clear that certain parts of the structure were built earlier. The entrance to the Church bears very little resemblance to a Church. R. L. Brohier comments on the structure as follows:

“Architecturally, it is based on the old meeting-house type – yet superior in many respects – with arched windows to each side and a veranda to the south side with masonry pillars and railings in the familiar domestic style prevalent in town architecture, and a massive door in the middle of the southern wall. The veranda has obviously been tacked on to the main structure sometime later. The structure is finished off with a simple form of end-gable.” (Quoted from De Silva, R. K., and Beumer, W. G. M., (1988), Illustrations and Views of Dutch Ceylon, Serendib Publication, p. 184)

When Lorenz was baptised on August 2, 1829, the following was recorded in the Church baptismal records:

“The child born on the 8^th of July to be named Charles Ambrose Lionel. The parents are Johan Frederik Lorenz and Anna Petronella Smith, married. The sponsors are Robert Charles Roosmalecocq, Jacobus Ambrosius Roosmalecocq (brothers of Johan Lorenz’s 1^st wife), Maria Theresa de Leeuw, and Anna Sophia Carolina Lorenz (Johan Lorenz’s daughter from his second marriage.” (Translated from the original Dutch in Blaze, p. 6)

In 2004, just like Lodge Harmony, the Dutch Reformed Church faced the perils of the Tsunami. However, it was well restored to its former glory. The Church remains intact and in service as of November 2023.