Aachen House, 39 Market Road – Sold July 2022

Since it was built in 1904, the Remuera house at 39 Market Road (formerly 19 Market Road) has often been used as a boarding house. It has been known as Aachen House since the 1950s.

Since it was built in 1904, the Remuera house at 39 Market Road (formerly 19 Market Road) has often been used as a boarding house. It has been known as Aachen House since the 1950s but the origin of the name is obscure. Originally, the building was on one level and the second floor was added in 1917.

In 1928 it was owned by the Dilworth Ulster Institute, i.e. Dilworth School. The house was offered for removal and two building sites were to be available for a 50-year lease.

Arthur Lewitt Ferneyhough (1871 – 1936) was an early resident. He was born in Nottingham and emigrated from England in the 1890’s, marrying Eva Rountree in 1900. She was the niece of Edward Bartley, the respected and well known Auckland architect, responsible for the Jewish Synagogue in Princes St., the Mercury Theatre, and The Blind Foundation building in Parnell. Edward served as architect to the Anglican Church, the Auckland Savings Bank and the Auckland Hospital & Charitable Aid Board as an architect.

Arthur’s architectural training was done in Bartley’s office. He lived in the building at Market Rd around 1929. In 1935 electoral rolls identify him as living at 15 Market Rd, where he practiced as an architect while his wife ran the home as a boarding house. It is not believed that they owned the house.

During World War II, it was used as an officers’ club for American medical officers from the US base hospital over the road, now the site of Dilworth Junior School.

It was used by the Dilworth Trust Board in 1995 as accommodation for staff and parents.

It was then restored in the late 1990s and operated by Greg and Joan McKirdy as a luxury boutique hotel Aachen House with 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. It was expanded to include a conservatory and gazebo as a corporate venue.

Isabella Dilworth Lodge, as it was known recently, came up for sale by the Dilworth Trust Board in June 2022 and was sold to a family who want to use it as a family home.