Court Hey, Moseley

William de Lacy Aherne FRIBA (17 April 1867 – 4 December 1945) was an English architect, notable for designing many Arts and Crafts houses in the Moseley area of Birmingham.[1]

Family

Born in Cheam, Surrey to William Aherne (b. 1841) and Emma Paterson (b. 1842), de Lacy Aherne came from a family of devout Plymouth Brethren, a faith that he ceased to share in early adulthood.[2]

He married Annie Louise Thomas (1872 – 1942), daughter of William Thomas (1841 - 1901) and Mary Louise Wright (1847 - 1912) in 1898 and they had two sons- the actors Pat Aherne and *Brian Aherne- and a daughter, Elana Aherne.[2] When he died on 4 December 1945 he was living at 25 Ladbrooke Road, London.[3]

Career

In 1886 or 1887 he took a job as an architect's apprentice in Birmingham, where he worked for the King's Norton and Northfield Sanitary Authority.[4] His earliest recorded private commissions were in the King's Norton area and date from 1889, and in 1890 he was elected to the Birmingham Architectural Association.[5]

In 1898 de Lacy Aherne was commissioned to build a series of houses by his father-in-law, whose local contacts in the Moseley area were helpful to the rising young architect; his work quickly became fashionable among the rapidly growing and wealthy professional middle class of the area.[6] From 1903 onwards he designed a large number of speculative houses in high-status Moseley roads such as Russell Road, Salisbury Road, Amesbury Road, Reddings Road and Oxford Road, financed either by himself or in conjunction with local building firms.[7] Several of these houses, including 9 St Agnes Road and 110 and 112 Oxford Road are now listed buildings.[8] He was probably also the architect of Blackhill, the home of Birmingham Repertory Theatre founder Barry Jackson in the Malvern Hills.[9]

He was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1926 and became a Fellow in 1931.[10]

Selected works

References

  1. ^ Wood 2009, p. 567.
  2. ^ a b Wood 2009, p. 568.
  3. ^ "Deaths". Birmingham Daily Post. England. 7 December 1945. Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ Wood 2009, pp. 568–569.
  5. ^ Wood 2009, p. 569.
  6. ^ Wood 2009, pp. 570–571.
  7. ^ Wood 2009, pp. 572–573.
  8. ^ Wood 2009, pp. 573–576.
  9. ^ Wood 2009, p. 578.
  10. ^ Ballard, Phillada (2009). Birmingham's Victorian and Edwardian Architects. Oblong Creative Limited. p. 569. ISBN 978-0-9556576-2-7.
  11. ^ "An attractive modern residence known as Court Hey, Chantry Road, Moseley". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 7 July 1906. Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Historic England, "9 St Anges Road B13 (1220717)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 24 May 2020
  13. ^ Historic England, "110 and 112 Oxford Road B13 (1343117)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 24 May 2020
  14. ^ Foster, Andy (2005). Birmingham. Pevsner Architectural Guides. p. 164. ISBN 0-300-10731-5.
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