Item 46 - Universal Store Receipt

Mr James Laurie opened a successful ironmongers shop at 121-124 Fitzroy Street which was known as Laurie and McConnal. In recognition of advice given by his friend, Mr McConnal, James Laurie decided to use both names as a trading title, though only members of the Laurie family actually held shares. In February 1903 the premises were burnt down in a massive fire and the business moved to temporary premises in Fair Street whilst the premises were rebuilt as one of the biggest departmental stores in East Anglia. The store opened in November 1903 "with brand new stock of furnishing, general ironmongery, stationery, haberdashery, china and glass". The shop was described as "the first entirely steel-frame buildings erected in this country. Those who remember the former premises cannot but be struck with the immense improvement effected, with lifts, driven by an electric motor, at the service of customers any time of the day". It had a band stand on the roof from which bands would serenade shoppers on a Saturday.

In 1954 the department store was purchased by the London firm of Shirley Bros.

In 1954 a fire seriously damaged Laurie and McConnal’s warehouse in Willow Place, Fitzroy Street. Children and old folk were evacuated as over 50 firemen fought Cambridge’s biggest fire for years in near-arctic conditions. They were taken to the Church Army Hall

In December 1977 - the store was forced to close due to indecisions about the development of the Kite area. "The news that Laurie and McConnal’s department store is closing will have come as a surprise to most people. But to anyone who regularly used the store it was only a question of time before they succumbed to the inevitable. Even at the height of the shopping day you could be the only potential customer in any one department. It had 50,000 sq ft of selling space, spread over five floors to service, heat, decorate and keep full of merchandise and the passing trade had dropped off dramatically as so many houses have been knocked down and food shops have disappeared from the Kite area".

In 1981 - the former Laurie and McConnal store and a number of small adjoining shops in Fitzroy Street were sold to Grosvenor Estates, who were redeveloping the Kite. It was one of the city’s largest and longest-established department stores and had been empty since the firm closed down at the end of 1977. It was refurbished and brought back into retail use with Habitat moving into the premises in 1983