Echelon Barracks Explained

Echelon Barracks
Location:Colombo
Type:Headquarters building
Map Type:Sri Lanka Colombo Central
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Sri Lanka
Built:1880s
Used:1880s – 1970s
Garrison:Ceylon Artillery

Echelon Barracks was a former military barracks situated in Colombo Fort, Colombo. It was occupied by the newly formed Ceylon Army following independence.

History

Built during the late nineteenth century as headquarters of the British Army Garrison of Ceylon, the camp was made up of a two-storey barrack blocks, with wide verandahs, formed a square around a parade ground large enough for several football and hockey pitches. This parade ground gained the name Echelon Square and adjoined the then old Parliament (now the Presidential Secretariat). Until 1963 it was the regimental headquarters of the Ceylon Artillery and housed the Ministry of Defence. In the early 1970s the barracks were demolished to make way for commercial development.[1]

Since 1997 the World Trade Centre, Colombo has stood in Echelon Square.[2]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Letters. Burnley Express. 31 August 2005. 8 August 2014.
  2. Book: Raven, Ellen. ABIA: South and Southeast Asian Art and Archaeology Index: Volume Three. Brill. 2010. 978-9004191488. 634. 8 August 2014.