Julius House is named after Bishop Churchill Julius, second Bishop of Christchurch (1890–1925) and third Warden of Christ’s College. The Julius House tie shows the mitre with lappets or ribbons worn by bishops, as a symbol of their office. Julius House is one of six dayboy Houses at Christ’s College.
The Julius House building started life as part of Mountfort’s new classrooms (the other one being Harper House), designed by Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort and completed in 1886. The bottom floor of the building was converted in 1931 to become Julius House, while the upstairs remained as classrooms. The House was renovated completely in 1962 and again in 1981. It has had minor refurbishments over the years, but its main architectural features have remained unaltered. The stone step to the locker room and the hardwood of the low wall of the cloisters, both carved by hundreds of boys’ shoes over the years, are the physical evidence of the legacy from past generations of Julius House boys.
Julius House was originally known as North Town as it was the dayboy House into which all the boys who lived in the northern part of town were placed. Inside, Honours Boards retrace the history of all the boys who have been members of Julius House.
Julius House sits within the school grounds, is north-facing and looks directly onto the quad. In the September 2010 earthquake, Julius House lost its chimneys, which damaged the iconic cloisters area. This was fixed, only to suffer again after the February 2011 earthquake where the Harper chimneys damaged both Houses and the cloisters area. It was with great pleasure that we returned to a fully functioning House in 2013.