Church of St. Michael & All Angels, Polwatte
When the original Colombo city church burned down in 1864 during a fireworks display to celebrate its dedication, it proved a blessing in disguise.
What had been a cramped and not particularly popular place of worship—‘unseen and unpraised of men’, as was said at the time—was rebuilt on a better and more accessibly site.
Its beauty can best be described in The Story of St. Michael’s, Polwatte: “As one enters by the West Door, one notes with surprise and delight the noble proportions of the Nave, long and lofty above all expectation.
“Beyond it the eye rests at length with satisfaction on the broad arch and arcaded walls of the Sanctuary, and the fine ‘perpendicular’ tracery of the East window…
“Excellent too is the broad ambulatory, which adds much to the general sense of space and freedom, while the Lady Chapel provides the contrast of a gentle grace”.