In the 1920s, when the site was redeveloped, the graves were relocated to Kanatte Cemetery, the main burial ground and crematorium in Colombo.
The Galle Face Burial Ground was established by the British in 1803 largely due to the heavy casualties suffered by the British army in the Kandyan War against the King of Kandy during the administration of Governor Frederick North (1801–1805).
[1][2][3] Situated on enclosed ground on the southern bank of Beira Lake, north of Galle Face Green, the burial site was used exclusively for the British, including military personnel, government offices, merchants, planters, and their wives and children.
In 1821, the burial ground was consecrated by the Bishop of Calcutta, Thomas Middleton.
[1][2][3][4][5] When Kanatte Cemetery was opened in Colombo in 1866, burials at Gale Face Burial Ground declined with the last recorded grave dating from 1877.