The organisation was founded in 1987 after a homeless man died on the streets of Bath. Spurred by this tragic incident a number of the city’s churches got together and decided that something needed to be done to help the homeless. Initially a series of ad hoc night shelters were used but very quickly two things became apparent – that the scale of the problem was much larger than they had thought and, that it was a very much a 365 day a year problem.

A charity was formed – Bath Churches Housing Association and a public appeal launched to try and set up a dedicated night shelter. Six years later the Julian House night shelter in Manvers St was opened. Since then other projects and facilities have been developed which are aimed at reconnecting clients with their local communities and preventing others from becoming homeless.

Over time the organisation’s formal name, Bath Churches Housing Association has been replaced by the name of its founding project Julian House.