Eccentric Entrepreneur

Sir Julien Cahn: Businessman, Philanthropist, Magician and Cricket-Lover

Julien Can, the son of a German Jewish emigré, was an enormously successful businessman who used his wealth to indulge his somewhat eclectic passions. He built his own cricket ground and put together what is still regarded as the finest private cricket team ever assembled (which he captained): it undertook world tours, beating national teams. He was master of three hunts. An accomplished amateur magician, he built a magnificent art deco theater at his home, Stanford Hall, and was invited to perform at the London Palladium. He purchased Lord Byron's house, Newstead Abbey, and donated it to the nation. There is even a suggestion that he assisted in mitigating the effects of Mandy Gregory's "cash for honors" scandal. Told by his grand-daughter, this is a vivid picture of Britain in the 1930s, and of one its most eccentric inhabitants.