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]
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]