'A Shropshire lass who loved porcelain dolls and the Dalai Lama': Daughter of Shrewsbury house fire tragedy victim shares memories of her beloved mum and an update on saving the building

She was well travelled, enjoyed learning about different cultures and sharing her tales from her voyages around the world.

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She loved the Dalai Lama, calling him “His Gigglefulness”.

But she wasn’t a big fan of Donald Trump.

Rose’s tragic death at 81 in a fire at her beloved home, Perches House in Shrewsbury town centre, shocked the community and left her loved ones devastated.

A big crowdfunding campaign has been launched to try and rebuild the house that she lovingly restored for many years.

Now her daughter, Jessica Richards, has shared some special memories of her mum.

Rose was born in Birmingham and moved to Aston Hill, South Shropshire when she was young. She was a mum-of-three and grandma-of-one.

She later bought Perches House, off Castle Street, and restored it. She also worked as an antiques dealer among other jobs over the years.

Jessica said: “She was very much a Shropshire lass.

“She had a great love of porcelain dolls. She called them ‘my girls’. We did manage to save a lot of them out of the house.

“She would travel to France to get them and then bring them back to England. 

“She was a lover of antiques and old things. She used to travel all around buying antique furniture and sell it in her shop. She didn’t like things going to waste.”

“We travelled a lot together,” Jessica added, telling of childhood trips to India, Nepal, Tibet, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China.

“She was interested in lots of different cultures. She loved the Dalai Lama. She used to call him ‘His Gigglefulness’.

“She had great respect for good people, but didn’t suffer fools. And she hated Donald Trump.”

Rose lived at the picturesque, timber-framed Perches House for about 45 years, and went to great lengths to restore it to its former glory.

The house is steeped in history, with records suggesting it dates back to the 1300s, although Rose never had the house carbon-dated.

At one time it was a wool merchants and John Perch, a wealthy draper, lived there in the 1500s.

Prominent Shrewsbury judge Sir Timothy Turner also lived there in the 1600s.

More recently, it was used as Scrooge’s office in the 1984 film A Christmas Carol.

Rose owned the house at the time.

“She was there, making them cups of tea,” Jessica said. 

“I’m not sure when she started restoring the house, but she was always the first on site and the last to leave.”

She told how Rose had great respect for the tradesmen who worked on the house, but was very particular about the work they did.

“There was one time she told plumbers she wanted pipes hidden in the wall,” Jessica said. “She came back later and they were outside the wall. She got a crowbar and ripped them out.

“I remember her saying the next day to the plumber ‘I want to speak to you about something’, leading him up the stairs.

“He said ‘Oh yes Rose’, with a smile on his face. She was fuming but he had already put the pipes back where she originally asked.

“But she did have a good relationship with people who worked on the house and great respect for them. She called them ‘my boys’. She had an electrician who she called ‘the light of my life’.

Unfortunately, the house was not insured at the time of the fire.

Jessica put it down to the fact her mum had been very poorly for several months that it may have slipped her mind.

“It should have been insured,” she said. “It always was insured. It was always such a priority for mum ever since she bought it.

“She was denied by one company, and then went to another and was denied by them.

I don’t know why. She always paid on time and never made any claims.

“About nine months ago she had a severe asthma attack. That started a difficult period of her life. She was in and out of hospital. She was really, really poorly.

“After that severe asthma attack, everything changed.”

Jessica has thanked lots of people for their love and support since the tragedy happened, including firefighters who risked their lives trying to save her. 

“It’s been so wonderful to see the outpouring of respect for mum,” she said.

Jessica, her partner and daughter live opposite Perches House, so the home holds a lifetime of memories for her.

“My books and my old school work were upstairs,” she said. “On the floor (after the fire) there was an old piece of my science work from school that had fluttered out of the roof. All the edges were burnt to a crisp.

“It was just so surreal picking up these things that are all my memories.”

She said she was thankful that she had such a close-knit relationship with her mum.

“She so cared for her family,” Jessica said. “I feel so lucky to have had such a good bond with mum. My daughter as well. There was barely a day when we wouldn’t see granny.”

Giving an update on the crowdfunder, which had raised more than £28,000 to rebuild the house, Jessica said: “Thank you so much for your donations and the many kind messages, it truly means a great deal to our whole family. 

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to respond to everyone individually, but please know how deeply grateful we are to everyone who has donated, shared the page, or offered such thoughtful words of support. It is a real testament to Mum, and we cannot thank you enough.

“As things progress, I will continue to post updates. We are currently waiting for the design of the temporary roof structure to be finalised before installation can begin. It will need to be a substantial structure to safely protect the building, particularly given the strong winds we have been experiencing during recent storms.

“Another heartfelt thank you as well to everyone involved who is helping in so many ways behind the scenes. Your support is making an enormous difference, I couldn’t do it without all of you all.”