Exchequer
The
Exchequer was (and in some cases still is) a part of the governments of
England (latterly to include
Wales,
Scotland and
Ireland) that was responsible for the management and collection of
revenues. The various
Exchequers also developed a judicial role.
At an early stage in
England (certainly by 1190) it split into a purely administrative part, the Exchequer of Receipt, which collected revenue, and a judicial part, the
Exchequer of Pleas, which was a court concerned with the King's revenue.
Originally the Exchequer referred to a large table, 10 feet by 5, on which counters were placed representing various values. According to the
Dialogue concerning the Exchequer, an early
Medieval work describing the practice of the Exchequer, the name referred to the resemblance of the table with that of a
chess board.
The term "Exchequer" then came to refer to the twice yearly meetings held at
Easter and
Michaelmas at which government financial business was transacted and an audit held of
sheriff's returns.
Under
Henry I, the procedure for the
audit adopted would involve the
Treasurer drawing up a
summons which would be sent to each
Sheriff, which they would be required to answer. The Treasurer would call on each Sheriff to give account of Royal income in their
Shire. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer would then question them concerning debts owed by private individuals. The results of the audit were recorded in a series of records known as the
Pipe Rolls.
After the Union
The Exchequer became unnecessary as a revenue collecting department as a result of
Pitt's reforms. It was abolished in
1834. Those government departments collecting revenue paid it directly to the
Bank of England.
By extension exchequer has come to mean the
Treasury; and, colloquially,
pecuniary possessions in general; as, 'the company's exchequer' is low.
The Scottish Exchequer dates back to around
1200 and had a similar role of auditing and deciding on royal revenues as in England. The Scottish exchequer was slower to develope a separate judicial role, and it was not until
1584 that it became a court of law, separate from the King's council. Even then, the judicial and administrative roles never became completely separated into two bodies, as with the English Exchequer.
The term
Court of the Exchequer was only used of the Exchequer department during the Scottish administration of
Oliver Cromwell between
1655 and
1659.
In
1708, the Exchequer Court (Scotland) Act (6 Anne c. 53) reconstituted the Exchequer into a court on the English model with a Lord Chief Baron and 4 Barons. The court adopted English forms of procedure and had further powers added to it.
From
1832 no new Barons were appointed, and their role was increasingly taken over by judges of the
Court of Session. By the Exchequer Court (Scotland) Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 56) the Exchequer became a part of the Court of Session. One of the Lords Ordinary acts as a judge in Exchequer causes. The English forms of process ceased to be used in
1947.
*
Fisc*
Lord Chancellor of Scotland*
Court of Exchequer (Scotland)*
Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer*
Irish Exchequer*
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer*
HM Treasury history page* Keir, D. L. The Constitutional History of Modern Britain 1485-1937. Third Edition. A & C Black 1946.
* Warren, W. L. The Governance of Norman and Angevin England 1086-1272. Edward Arnold 1987. ISBN 0-7131-6378.
*
Murray, Athol L, Burnett, Charles J. The seals of the Exchequer of Scotland. Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. 123 (1993) 439-52*
National Archives of Scotland guide to Exchequer Records.
