[1] With construction completed in 1912, the house was built by Thomas Henry Arthur de Soysa, who was a prominent businessmen and the Consul for Chile.

[2][3][4] Arthur de Soysa sold the house to the Government of Ceylon in 1920 to establish the University College Colombo the following year.

[5] The Library of the University College began in a room of the house with a collection of books belonging to A. Padmanabha, gifted by his father Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam.

[6] On March 8, 1989, elements of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna assassinated the Vice Chancellor, Prof Stanley Wijesundera at the Library Room in the College House.

A new building was constructed on the ground as part of the expansion of the university administration in the 1980s and to house the Faculty of Graduate Studies.