There is archaeological evidence that the leather working trade has been in Abingdon since the 14th century. In the 19th century William Batten Bailey established himself as a woolstapler, fellmonger and parchment maker, originally based in Ock Street he moved to Spring Grove between 1863-1868. In 1911 the Spring Grove Works were acquired by Thomas Tate and Son and in 1912 Tate’s son John formed the Pavlova Leather Syndicate with Robert Atkin Fraser. Fraser is thought to have admired the ballerina, Anna Pavlova, hence the name of the company. In 1918 the syndicate went into liquidation, resulting in the formation of The Pavlova Leather Company. In 1921 the company was bought by Alfred Booth and Co. and in 1929 part of the factory was leased to the MG Car Company. At this time the business ceased fellmongering and concentrated on gloving and chamois and skiver production. In the 1930s a tannery was established on Radley Road. In 1982 Booth and Co (International Holdings) Ltd. were taken over by Garnar Scotblair to form Garnar Booth PLC which was taken over by the Pittard Group in 1987. These takeovers ultimately contributed to the closure of the factory in 1993.
The records include material for The Savernake Glove Company and the Boniface Sheepskin Company, which were subsidiaries of Pavlova Leather Company. The Savernake Glove Company was originally based in Woodstock..
The records were deposited as Acc4063 in February 1996 and and as Acc 4331 in February 1998. Catalogued by Alison Smith in May 2018.