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| Sunday, 02 April 2006 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The man who built Adisham In the Landmarks page, we featured the Adisham Bungalow. There you came across the name Sir Thomas Villiers, and may have wondered who he was. The only thing you know is that he built the house Adisham, but you may want to know more. Sir Thomas Lister Villiers was born in 1869 in Adisham, in a rectory (the house of a rector) in Kent, UK. He was the son of Rev. Henry Montague Villiers, and was the grandson of Lord John Russell, who was twice prime minister of Britain. Sir Villiers was educated in a public school. After growing up, without settling down in England as a businessman or a politician, he chose adventure in Sri Lanka, then Ceylon. Believe it or not, he came to our country in 1887 with just ten sterling pounds in his pocket! Soon after his arrival, he started his career as a trainee planter (a creeper) in Elbedde Estate, Bogawanthalawa. In 1896, he married the daughter of a planter and went to Brazil. He returned to our country after four years and soon began his own tea estate, which was called the Dikoya Group. In 1905, Sir Villiers joined the company George Steuart, which was a trading and estate agency house in Colombo. He became its Chairman in 1928, and around the same period he started building Adisham. He held the chairmanship of this company until his retirement in 1948. He also played a role in local politics. Sir Villiers had two sons, but both left their parents. He retired to Kent and died on December 21, 1959.
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