exchequer

The Exchequer was (and in some cases still is) a part of the governments of England (latterly to include Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) that was responsible for the management and collection of revenues. The various Exchequers also developed a judicial role.

History of the Exchequer in England and Wales

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 the cloth laid over a large table, 10 feet by 5, on which counters were placed representing various values. According to the Dialogue concerning the Exchequer^[1], 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.

History of the Exchequer in Scotland

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 develop 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.

See also

• Fisc
• Lord Chancellor of Scotland
• Auditor of the Exchequer in Scotland
• Court of Exchequer (Scotland)
• Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Irish Exchequer
• Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
• Chancellor of the Exchequer

External link

• HM Treasury history page

References

• 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-X
• 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.
• Dialogue concerning the Exchequer

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