Badulla St. Mark's Church | AmazingLanka.com

RATE THIS LOCATION : 1 Star

(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5)

St. Mark's Church Badulla (බදුල්ල ශාන්ත මාක් දේවස්ථානය) — St. Mark’s Church Badulla (බදුල්ල ශාන්ත මාක් දේවස්ථානය)

In the heart of Badulla town, at the junction where the Bandarawela–Passara road intersects with the Meegahakivula–Spring Valley road, stands a modest yet architecturally refined English church known as St. Mark’s Church. This church was erected by the local community in remembrance of Major Thomas William Rogers, who served as the Government Agent of the Badulla District. It was consecrated on 25 April 1857 by Bishop James Chapman. A bell tower was later added at the entrance in 1921.

Major Rogers is infamously known for having killed the most elephants in Sri Lanka’s history. According to different sources, the number ranges from over 1,400 (Storey, 1907) to more than 2,000 (Grylls, 1848). Many believed his fate was sealed by this bloodshed: he was eventually killed by a lightning strike, and his tombstone itself has been struck by lightning on multiple occasions (Cave, 1904).

In the final two years of his life, Rogers’s activities were no longer seen as sporting but rather as ruthless slaughter, as described by fellow coffee planters who had hunted alongside him. His actions disturbed many Sinhala Buddhists to such an extent that none would serve him; instead, he employed Malays and Tamils as his groom, cook, and gun bearers (Hensoldt, 1895).

A remarkable and ominous event took place in January 1845. Hensoldt (1895) recounts how Rogers, preparing to lead a group of Morawala Korale coffee planters on an elephant hunt from his base in the old village of Badulla, encountered a Buddhist monk near an ancient stupa surrounded by Bo trees along the Minneriya road. The monk calmly raised his right arm, pointed at Rogers, and said, “White sahib, thine hour is drawing near; thou hast persisted in slaying the bodies and disturbing the souls of our sacred brothers; the measure of thine iniquities is full, and thou shalt be consumed by the lightning of heaven before thou canst raise thine accursed weapon for another act of sacrilege.”

The solemn tone of the monk’s words left a deep impression, even on the European planters who witnessed the scene. Rogers appeared stunned, remaining motionless on his horse long after the monk had vanished into the temple, and it took effort to coax him back to action.

News of this unusual encounter quickly circulated among the island’s European community. Much to Rogers’s irritation, friends and acquaintances often teased him about the prophecy. At the Army and Navy Club in Colombo, he would be greeted with remarks such as, “Hello, Rogers! Still alive? The lightning hasn’t got you yet?” Such jests clearly affected him; his demeanor changed, and he showed discomfort whenever elephant hunting was mentioned.

Approximately eight months later, Rogers learned of a rogue elephant that had killed two cart drivers near Badulla. Determined to act, he organized a hunting party which included C. R. Buller, then Government Agent of the Central Province, and Buller’s wife (Toussaint, 1933). The group paused at the Haputale Rest House for lunch.

As they prepared for an afternoon nap, a sudden tropical downpour struck, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The rain ended after about 15 minutes, and Rogers stepped outside, saying, “I think we can start pretty soon. I will go outside and see how things look…” Those were the last words he spoke. He was fatally struck by lightning and reduced to a charred figure. He was just 41 years old.

The remains of his body were taken to Nuwara Eliya, where he was buried in the small church cemetery. A marble plaque marks his grave. St. Mark’s Church in Badulla stands as a tribute to his memory, bearing a simple inscription on a wall-mounted tablet.

On 6 June 2008, both the church and its bell tower were officially declared protected archaeological monuments by gazette notification.

References

Storey, H. (1907) Hunting & Shooting in Ceylon. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
Pieris, R. (1965) “The effects of technological development on the population of Uul Oya Valley, Ceylon,” The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies, 8(1&2), p. 172.
Cave, H.W. (1904) Golden Tips, A Description of Ceylon and its Great Tea Industry. 3rd edn. London: S. Low, Marston & Co.
Lewis, J.P. (1913) List of Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon : Of Historical or Local Interest, with an obituary of persons uncommemorated. Colombo: H C Cottle.
Abeyawardhana, H. A. P. (2004) Heritage of Kandurata: Major Natural, Cultural, and Historic Sites. Kandy: Kandurata Development Bank, in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Tennent, J.E. (1860) Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions. London.
Toussaint, J.R. (1933) “Major T. W. Rogers,” Journal of the Dutch Burger Union of Ceylon, 23, pp. 57–66.
Grylls, J.W. (1848) The Out-Station or Jaunts in the Jungle. 2nd edn. London: Chapman and Hall.
Hensoldt, H. (1895) “The Fate of Major Rogers : A Buddhist Mystery of Ceylon,” The Arena, 11, pp. 71–78.
(2008) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Colombo 08: Department of Govt. Printing (No. 1,553 – FRIDAY, JUNE 06, 2008).

Also See

Historical Churches of Sri Lanka

Map of Badulla St. Mark’s Church

Click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map

Show Location on Google Maps

The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.