An 1834 map shows this land belonging to J.T. Hughes (see Wybalena Area). Charles Edward Jeanneret built this half of a pair of attached two-storey houses (see 9 Woolwich Road) finishing in 1879. The curved roof and cast iron trim of the tower are a notable feature of the both houses. St Claire was described in the rate book as a twelve-room stone house with one acre of garden, let for £150 a year to Mr Benjamin Buchanan in 1880. There is no entry recognisable as St Claire in Sands Directory from 1883 to 1900, suggesting that it was let and the name not in use. In 1901 Mr F. Goodall was listed here in St Claire and from 1904 Mr Arthur Kingston Moore. In 1918 the name Auerbach made its first appearance in Sands Directory and members of the family owned it until 1964.