 St. Thomas' College Matara was founded by the Christian Missionary Society of England in 1844.The main concern of the various missionary bodies in Sri Lanka during the early period of British rule was the determination to give their students a sound English education.As a result of this St. Thomas' School later to become a secondary school in 1914 as St. Thomas' College commenced in a bungalow in the village of Wellamadama, the current location of the University of Ruhuna.