St Julians History

The present house of St Julians was built in 1836-1837 by John Herries. Born in 1777, John Herries became a clerk in the House of Commons, rising eventually to the post of Chief Commissary in 1811. He was responsible for supplies to the army during the period of the Napoleonic wars. He went on to become an MP, retiring in 1851.  The Herries family  lived in the house continuously until after the Second World War.

In 1951 it was extremely difficult for wives and mothers who were professionally trained to continue their careers so St Julians was bought by a group of families and individuals with a view to providing nursery facilities to allow mothers to work part or full time if they wished to do so.

The second important motive was to provide restaurant and leisure facilities for people living at St Julians and their friends.

A Members’ Club was formed in 1956 with the provision of a bar. The Club developed rapidly when the main outdoor swimming pool was opened in 1963. The west field was acquired in 1967 and the woods, purchased in 1983, make a total of some 78 acres.

The Club occupies the ground floor of the building and the remainder of the house is converted into offices and flats. Many of the staff live at the Club.

St Julians is owned by a trust and the Club is still run by one of the original families.